2 ex-UCF students settle lawsuit over expulsion on sex allegations

Two former University of Central Florida students who sued the school after they were expelled because of sexual misconduct allegations have settled their cases, agreeing not to return to campus, records show.

The men were both accused of sexual contact with women too drunk to consent, and both had filed legal action seeking to have their expulsions overturned. The university settled with them during the past few months.

In the most recent case, a Clearwater man was expelled in January after a woman, identified as “Jane Doe” in court documents, said she went to the man’s offcampus apartment after a party in October 2016. She told UCF investigators that on the night of the party, she sent Snapchat messages to her friends, pleading with them for help and begged the man to take her home. She said she remembers him taking off her shorts and underwear and touching her sexually.

He said when he asked her if she was sure she wanted to have sex, she said “yes,” according to the documents.

Though the man completed his classes in December 2017 and walked in his graduation ceremony, the school added a line to his transcript in January saying he had been expelled. He does not have a degree from the university.

He agreed to a “disciplinary dismissal” period of five years, when his transcript will indicate he is not in good standing with the university, according to documents provided by the school. After that time period, the reference to the disciplinary action will go away.

In an earlier case, a Deltona man was part of a group of friends and acquaintances who decided to party together in November 2015 in downtown Orlando.

He left the club alone with a woman, who was under the legal drinking age, and they took a Lyft back to his apartment near campus, according to court records and an Orange County Sheriff’s Office report.

The woman said she remembered the driver telling the man to stop touching her. Her memory was hazy after they left the car, she said, but according to the court case, he forced himself on her in his bedroom.

The man said the sex was consensual and that the woman made up the allegation because her boyfriend had caught her cheating on him.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigated and recommended the man be charged with sexual battery, but prosecutors declined to press charges in April 2016.

The man agreed to a disciplinary dismissal of two years, according to the settlement.