Celt starlet wins battle with uni who barred him over false rape claims
A CELTIC starlet who quit for a £200,000 university scholarship in the US is seeking damages over false date rape allegations.
Ciaran McKenna, 19, was suspended by Duke University after a fellow student accused him of sexual misconduct.
But now a judge has ruled that the university in Durham, North Carolina, had not acted properly in the case.
Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson granted a permanent injunction against the university – blocking Ciaran’s suspension.
And the teenager plans to seek damages over his treatment in a civil action.
Ciaran’s ordeal began in November 2015 when he met a female fellow student in a local nightspot.
The pair had a sexual encounter but several months later, the woman filed a complaint with the university’s Office of Student Conduct, alleging she had not consented to sex.
In July 2016, an OSC panel found Ciaran unanimously responsible for violating sexual misconduct policy because the alleged victim had not verbally consented.
But the panel were not unanimously convinced of the alleged victim’s credibility and that she said “no” to sex despite claiming she had.
Ciaran appealed and the appeals panel batted the issue back to the OSC.
In November 2016, a second OSC panel found the alleged victim had not given consent.
Ciaran appealed to a second appeals panel, who decided not to overturn the decision, and he was suspended for six terms in January 2017. But he continued to attend pending his court action.
In court, Ciaran’s legal team claimed Duke breached their own policies by allowing a second panel to hear the case.
One of Ciaran’s lawyers, Emilia Beskind, said the university had broken their contract with him.
She said he would pursue damages due to the effect being “falsely labelled as a rapist” could have on his life.
She added: “I felt really strongly that this kid just got run over by a really bad process and is entirely innocent.”
In 2015, former Celtic ballboy Ciaran rejected a three-year deal with the club to take up a four-year scholarship at Duke.
The talented midfielder from Uddingston, Lanarkshire, said: “It was my lifelong dream to play for Celtic and the goal was always to secure a professional contract.
“My first thought when I was offered a three-year deal was to sign it but I was doing so well with my studies.”
Duke and the rival University of North Carolina, where Michael Jordan played basketball, were among several universities who wanted to offer him scholarships.
Ciaran said in 2015: “Duke ticked the boxes and were the most eager to take me on. They are eighth in the USA for academic achievement and outperform Ivy League schools.
“My back-up plan is to major with a degree in economics and go into banking and finance.”