FSU settles Winston rape lawsuit

The university remains under investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for possibly violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by mishandling Kinsman’s case.

The statement from Kinsman’s lawyers says they filed a separate sexual battery lawsuit against Winston individually, which will proceed.

Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after beating the Atlanta Falcons in overtime at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Nov. 1, 2015. Thrasher said the university will hire a full-time Title IX coordinator, form a sexual assault prevention task force, add six university positions for on-campus safety, and will publish annual reports for the next five years about what it’s doing to prevent campus sexual assault, according to the Sentinel. In 2013, prosecutors did not charge him, nor was he disciplined after a school code-of-conduct hearing in 2014. It was only in January 2014, after the Seminoles’ championship season, that the university attempted to question Winston. The Title IX lawsuit alleged that university officials concealed and obstructed the sexual assault investigation so that Mr. Winston could play football for more than two years afterwards. The state’s Risk Management Fund will pay the remainder and the $950,000 settlement to Erica Kinsman and her attorneys.

“If they’re saying, and I think they are, that the lawyers are going to get $700,000, that’s simply false”, said Baine Kerr, who represents Kinsman. “With all the economic demands we face, at some point it doesn’t make sense to continue even though we are convinced we would have prevailed”. “I am happy that FSU has committed to continue making changes in order to ensure a safer environment for all students.”.

Kinsmans allegations, which burst into the open in the middle of Winstons Heisman-winning campaign and FSUs quest for its first national title in more than a decade, helped ignite a nationwide discussion of sexual violence and higher education — particularly in regard to big-money college football. That case is unaffected by the university’s settlement, according to Kinsman’s attorneys.

Kinsmans lawsuit accused FSU of failing to act quickly to address Kinsmans allegations, which she first made months before Winston took the field.

Officials with FSU and local law enforcement have claimed they took then-freshman Kinsman’s complaint seriously, but egregious flaws in the investigations were uncovered by The New York Times. “There should be no doubt that Florida State is serious about fighting sexual assault”.