She desired more intimacy, but he declined, leading to her accusation of sexual assault. A jury granted him $4 million.
A Former Pacific University Student Awarded $4 Million After False Accusations
A jury has recently awarded a former Pacific University student a staggering $4 million in damages. This decision comes after the student, Peter Steele, was falsely accused of sexual assault and subsequently removed from his doctorate program without due process.
Steele enrolled at Pacific University in Washington County, Oregon, in 2016 with the goal of obtaining a Doctor of Psychology degree. In 2020, he engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with a fellow student named Abigail Masters, which lasted from March to June of that year.
Text messages exchanged between Steele and Masters during their relationship revealed that their encounters were consensual. However, Masters later accused Steele of nonconsensual behavior and became upset when he didn’t respond enthusiastically to her requests for more sexual encounters.
In a shocking turn of events, Masters even threatened to expose their affair to Steele’s other romantic partner if he didn’t comply with her demands. She followed through on this threat by driving past his apartment late at night.
After their final sexual encounter, Masters continued to pressure Steele for more sexual activity. When he didn’t comply, she reported him to Pacific administrators, accusing him of physical and sexual assault. This accusation set off a chain of events that ultimately led to Steele’s removal from the graduate program.
Steele was completely unaware of the allegations against him until July 2, 2020, when he received an email from the program’s director, Dr. Jennifer Clark, requesting a meeting. During the meeting, Steele was informed of the complaint but was given no details about the specific allegations or the process that would be followed to resolve the matter.
Pacific University’s own policies required them to provide Steele with notice of the accusations, information about the investigation procedure, and a fair opportunity to defend himself. However, throughout the entire ordeal, Steele was denied these basic rights.
Despite Steele’s repeated attempts to seek information about the complaint, Pacific administrators remained unresponsive. Meanwhile, they continued to support Masters and provide her with guidance and resources.
Steele’s suspension from the program was based on a restraining order obtained by Masters, which he had requested a hearing to contest. After reviewing the text messages between Steele and Masters, a judge determined that Masters’ allegations had no merit and lifted the restraining order.
However, Pacific University refused to reinstate Steele and denied his appeals, citing his alleged misrepresentation of his criminal background in his admissions application. Steele maintained that he had disclosed his misdemeanor conviction and had even informed program director Clark about it.
Feeling that he had been treated unfairly throughout the entire process, Steele filed a lawsuit against Pacific University. After a trial, a jury found that Pacific had breached their implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, causing emotional harm and economic damages to Steele.
The jury awarded Steele a staggering $3.975 million in damages, making it one of the largest jury awards ever given to a falsely accused student.
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