![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/03\/24\/PDTF\/7f079f16-bc44-4448-8511-99497c987cf4-EMUwomen_011321_kpm_44.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
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The Eastern Michigan University campus in Ypsilanti, Mich. on Wednesday, Jan.13, 2021. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)<\/span><\/p>\n DETROIT \u2014 Eleven\u00a0women have sued the\u00a0Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents and two fraternities, saying they covered up and failed to adequately address sexual assaults by several male students, leaving the female students in harm’s way\u00a0for\u00a0assaults they endured.<\/p>\n The Title IX lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S.\u00a0District Court\u00a0in the Eastern District of Michigan, also claims law enforcement is investigating more than\u00a030 rapes at EMU from 2015 to 2020.<\/p>\n The legal action comes after four known former students were arrested in the last year and accused of assaults during their time at the university.<\/p>\n Five of the women now involved in the lawsuit spoke to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on the condition of anonymity after they testified against one man \u2014 Dustyn Durbin, 24, of Frenchtown Township \u2014 at a preliminary examination, but prior to filing the lawsuit.<\/p>\n They\u00a0were concerned that Durbin was a known predator based on information from other women\u00a0and were concerned with the university’s overall handling of sexual assault cases, they said.<\/p>\n \u201cLots of protocols should have been in place for this not to have happened and they weren\u2019t,\u201d said one woman.<\/p>\n Specifically, the women in the lawsuit accuse:<\/p>\n The lawsuit levies accusations\u00a0against the university\u2019s Board of Regents,\u00a0the EMU Police Department,\u00a0Werner,\u00a0Heighes, EMU\u00a0Deputy Police Chief Daniel Karrick,\u00a0and the local and national chapters of the Alpha Sigma Phi and Delta Tau Delta fraternities.<\/p>\n The Ypsilanti Police Department, which handled the four arrests, said in a press release Wednesday\u00a0that it continues to actively investigate violence against women, including sexual\u00a0assaults dating back to 2014 and asked that any victims reach out to them. The department said no further information would be given.\u00a0<\/p>\n EMU President James Smith, in a campus message Wednesday, did not address the lawsuit\u00a0but discussed an effort to be\u00a0transparent and review their actions, including an ongoing audit of Title IX they launched.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Let me be clear: no student should suffer a sexual assault while part of our community,” he said in the message. “Worse, when one occurs and the survivor does not experience the kind of support they need and deserve, the institution must pay attention and strive tirelessly to fix whatever it was that created such an environment.<\/p>\n “Every student should feel comfortable using University services \u2013 and particularly our Title IX office \u2013 when they have experienced a sexual assault.”<\/p>\n EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said in an email the university just received a copy of the complaint\u00a0and directed the Free Press to the president’s statements, but in a subsequent email stated that allegations of a cover-up are false.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neither Werner, Heighes, nor Karrick, nor the fraternity representatives could be immediately reached for comment.<\/p>\n University\u00a0Title IX offices stem from a 1972 federal act of the same name, under\u00a0which sex discrimination, such as sexual harassment, is banned at schools receiving federal funding. Under Title IX, schools are obligated to investigate reports of sexual assault.<\/p>\n Statements from the university as late as last week show the school and the women are thus far at odds over whether there was \u201cactual knowledge\u201d of the assaults in several cases. That term and other language in the lawsuit reflect an attempt to meet the standard of the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has said a student only has a case if\u00a0a school\u2019s \u201cdeliberate indifference\u201d to a harassment report\u00a0led to more harassment.<\/p>\n Investigation: <\/strong>LSU administrator gave rapists, stalkers and other Title IX violators slaps on the wrist<\/span><\/p>\n Regarding several cases now in the lawsuit, the university previously told the Free Press\u00a0that no\u00a0complainant\u00a0wanted a formal investigation, and\u00a0in one case a complaint could not be followed up on because it was submitted anonymously.\u00a0<\/p>\n Werner also has denied that she suggested a\u00a0student not report an assault.\u00a0<\/p>\n The university can only investigate allegations brought to it, anonymous reports rarely support a meaningful Title IX investigation, and the university \u201cemphatically denies\u201d that its Title IX office ever discourages\u00a0a student from reporting,\u00a0said EMU Vice President for Communications Walter Kraft in a series of emailed statements last\u00a0week\u00a0in response to several Free Press inquiries.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It is with the utmost empathy for the experiences of the survivors who have come forward now that we express our deepest wishes that we\u00a0could\u00a0have moved forward then and our regret that we could not,” he said.<\/p>\n The women, who were not named in the anonymous Jane Doe lawsuit, described sexual assaults they endured involving four\u00a0male students, only three\u00a0of whom are known to be among those currently facing\u00a0criminal charges.<\/p>\n Those men are\u00a0Durbin, who faces charges involving nine women;\u00a0Thomas Hernandez, 23, of Lincoln Park;\u00a0and D\u2019Angelo McWilliams, now 25 of Canton, who is a Washtenaw County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy on unpaid leave.<\/p>\n Hernandez’s attorney, William Amadeo of the McManus & Amadeo law firm in\u00a0Ann Arbor, said his client “is not guilty of anything” and willing to take a polygraph test to prove it.\u00a0<\/p>\n “He’s willing to take a polygraph to prove his innocence and in my opinion, this has been a money grab\u00a0by people making false allegations,” he said. “I completely stand behind Thomas’ innocence and I intend to prove that in court.”<\/p>\n Douglas Gutscher, attorney for McWilliams, declined to comment and an attorney for Durbin could not be reached for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Police reports show McWilliams and Durbin all\u00a0told police\u00a0they had consensual sex\u00a0in their cases.<\/p>\n The women have countered the claims and talked with the Free Press about their long-term physiological harm from their assaults, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn essence, Defendants effectively provided Durbin, Hernandez, McWilliams and (the uncharged fourth accused man) with a \u2018Get Out of Jail Free’\u00a0card,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n Women had\u00a0thoughts of suicide, drops in grades, lack of trust in men,\u00a0withdrawal from education and other mental health struggles in the aftermath, the lawsuit states.\u00a0<\/p>\n The lawsuit ultimately accuses the institutions\u00a0of violating the women\u2019s rights, including Title IX and civil rights, failure to train and supervise, sex discrimination, and gross negligence, among other charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n It seeks a judgment in excess of $75,000.<\/p>\n RAINN, which stands for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, has a\u00a024-hour crisis line at 800-656-4673 for support,\u00a0information and referrals.<\/p>\n\n
For survivors of sexual assault<\/h2>\n