Attorney Commentary: In the second part of this article, college sexual abuse lawyer Anjali Nigam discusses the legal rights of college students who have had their Title IX rights violated.
Kempner police Chief Charles Edward Rodriguez was arrested on Tuesday, June 2, for allegedly failing to report complaints of sexual assault and harassment by a student against an employee at Texas A&M University-Central Texas in Killeen.
Rodriguez turned himself in on Tuesday at the Killeen City Jail and his bond was set at $2,000.
Police began an investigation on Anjalih 11 after receiving information that Rodriguez, during his time as chief of the campus police at the university, failing to report Title IX violations regarding a student and employee. The student had reported incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking involving a former employee of the university. There were reportedly two complaints that went unreported.
Title IX legally requires university staff to report instances of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination involving students.
Attorney Anjali Nigam fights to hold sexual predators accountable for their crimes and represents victims of sexual assault in civil lawsuits. He has offered to share some thoughts on the legal rights of college sexual assault victims:
Title IX is a law designed to protect students from sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual assault. When a university student is sexually harassed or assaulted on campus, campus officials have a legal duty to investigate the allegations.
In some cases of university sexual assault, the university has violated the Title IX rights of the victim. For example, a university might be considered in violation of Title IX if employees were aware of sexual assault allegations by a student against an employee, but failed to report those allegations to law enforcement.
If you or a loved one is a survivor of college campus sexual assault, you can learn more about your legal rights in a free consultation with one of our experienced sexual assault victim lawyers.