Lawsuit alleges St. F.X. fails to protect students from sexual assault
A lawsuit filed against the governors of St. Francis Xavier University alleges the school has been failing to protect victims of on-campus sexual assault.
The suit was filed this week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court by one of four alleged victims of sexual assault by Omogbolahan Jegede. The former X-Men football player and student at St. F.X. is scheduled to stand trial in September 2024 on four sexual assault charges relating to separate incidents involving different women that occurred between September 2022 and February of this year.
One of those alleged victims is the plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Her name, like those of the other three alleged victims, is protected by a publication ban.
In the suit, she alleges that St. F.X. banned Jegede from playing football for the X-Men “in or around 2020 or 2021” after receiving allegations of sexual assault by him but continued to allow him to live on campus and attend classes.
The suit states that he would go on to sexually assault a student in her dorm room last September, another female student on Feb. 10 and then two other female students in one of their dorm rooms the following night.
According to court documents, two of the women told St. F.X. administration on March 3 that they had been sexually assaulted by Jegede.
“The survivors, including the plaintiff, were under the impression St. F.X. would take a survivor-centred and trauma-informed approach and remove Jegede from St. F.X.’s campus to protect survivors as well as the St. F.X. community,” reads the statement of claim.
On March 10, Jegede was banned from his residence but not from being on campus or continuing to attend classes.
On March 13, the plaintiff met again with St. F.X. officials, telling them of other alleged sexual assaults by Jegede and requesting he be banned from campus completely.
On March 14, the plaintiff met with St. F.X. officials, this time bringing another woman who claimed to have been sexually harassed by Jegede over a period of time that ultimately culminated in an alleged sexual assault.
“St. F.X.’s position was that due to Jegede’s contract for housing and a meal plan, and procedural fairness, they would not immediately ban him from campus. Additionally, St. F.X. dissuaded the survivors from pursuing criminal charges until its investigation was concluded,” reads the statement of claim.
“On or about March 15, 2023, the plaintiff, frustrated by St. F.X.’s failure to take a survivor-centred and trauma-informed approach and their inaction in protecting the survivors and the St. F.X. community, reported the sexual assault by Jegede of her to the RCMP. The plaintiff’s intention in reporting the sexual assault to the RCMP was to protect the survivors and the broader St. F.X. community and force St. F.X. to take immediate action. The RCMP informed the plaintiff they would be immediately contacting St. F.X.”
According to the statement of claim, St. F.X. banned Jegede from campus the day after the plaintiff reported him to the RCMP.
On April 13, the RCMP charged Jegede with four counts of sexual assault.
No claims, civil or criminal, have been tested in court.
Asked for comment, St. F.X. spokesman Kyler Bell responded with a written statement noting that “there are multiple inaccuracies in the statement of claim” and “these inaccuracies will be addressed through the court process.”
He did not say what is allegedly inaccurate in the statement of claim.
“As you know we are limited about what we can say publicly with respect to a filing before the courts,” reads the response.
“ However, I can confirm that our actions were consistent with our policies, which were developed and reviewed by the university’s Sexual Violence Prevention Committee and leading experts in the field taking a survivor-centred and trauma-informed approach.”
Bell pointed to efforts by the university over the years when responding to complaints of on-campus sexual assault.
In 2016, the university’s Sexual Violence Prevention Committee developed the first standalone policy for responding to complaints of sexual violence. In 2019, the university got the Canadian Centre for Legal Innovation in Sexual Assault Response to review its policies, procedures and protocols related to sexual violence response. Based upon those recommendations the university unveiled the St. F.X. Sexual Violence Response Policy that it claims was followed when reports started coming in about Jegede.
“St. F.X. has failed to protect sexual abuse survivors, especially those who are victimized by student-athletes despite repeated sexual abuse incidents and calls for reform and further protection,” reads the statement of claim.
It goes on to reference other cases of alleged sexual assault involving student athletes where the alleged perpetrators were allowed to continue attending classes. While those cases went to trial, the accused were found not guilty.
“St. F.X. has failed to remedy its approach and processes to on-campus sexual abuse,” reads the statement of claim.
“St. F.X.’s approach to sexual abuse accommodates alleged perpetrators of on-campus sexual abuse by allowing them to continue their studies on campus and to access St. F.X. facilities despite posing a danger to survivors and the broader St. F.X. community. St. F.X. failed to immediately ban alleged sexual abuse perpetrators from campus even when there has been a series or multiple disclosures of sexual abuse against the same perpetrator.”
The civil suit seeks unspecified damages.
