{"id":109441,"date":"2022-06-23T00:02:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T04:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=109441"},"modified":"2022-06-23T22:53:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T02:53:10","slug":"student-sues-spring-hill-college-for-inadequate-security-leading-to-sexual-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/student-sues-spring-hill-college-for-inadequate-security-leading-to-sexual-assault\/","title":{"rendered":"Student sues Spring Hill College alleging inadequate security led to sexual assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

Her alleged assailant has been cleared of criminal charges\u00a0<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

A former Spring Hill College student sued the university for what she contends is its \u201creckless failure to provide security,\u201d which allegedly \u201cdirectly caused\u201d her \u201crape and sodomy\u201d by a fellow student.<\/p>\n

Audrey Cox\u2019s federal civil lawsuit<\/a>, still pending as of June 22, accused the Catholic college in Alabama of not protecting her and other students in the residence halls.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit names Spring Hill College as well as former foreign student Vassil Kokali, the alleged assailant, and several college employees as defendants.<\/p>\n

A jury on June 16 found Kokali not guilty of all criminal charges, according to WKRG<\/a>. Kokali had faced charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and first-degree burglary.<\/p>\n

That does not end Cox’s federal civil lawsuit, however. In that lawsuit, Cox (pictured<\/em>) alleges the school\u2019s lax commitment to security is largely to blame for her alleged assault in March 2021.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleged the school failed to provide essential security on a number of fronts: by failing to maintain working locks on the exterior doors of Cox\u2019s dorm, by neglecting to ensure that unauthorized people did not have access to the building, by violating its own security protocols, and by a demonstrated indifference to \u201cnumerous\u201d prior alleged sexual assaults.<\/p>\n

In response to claims of neglect, Fletcher Devery, a security officer for the school, told The College Fix <\/em>in an email that students often destroy recently fixed amenities, making maintenance difficult.<\/p>\n

“From my experience doors would get fixed only for students to break them the very same day. Specifically in high traffic dorms mag locks would be ripped apart or other locking mechanisms would be tampered with,\u201d Devery said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn spite of reporting the lights that were out on campus very few were repaired,\u201d Devery said. \u201cThat being said in some cases, specifically around dorms, students would break recently repaired lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suit also specifically accused the college of facilitating inappropriate and illegal use of alcohol. College safety officers allegedly provided students with alcohol at a party where Cox was in attendance and \u201cotherwise participated in the festivities with underage students attending Spring Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Cox\u2019s alleged assault did not happen at or following a party involving safety officers.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges Kokali was able to enter Cox’s room because the friend who brought her home had tried unsuccessfully to lock it from the outside. \u201cUpon leaving the room, Plaintiff\u2019s friend securely closed the door to her dorm room, but did not lock it because he was unable to do so from outside,\u201d the lawsuit alleged.<\/p>\n

Cox withdrew from the college and currently lives in Tennessee. Though distanced from the school, she came forward publicly this spring to file her suit and confront the accused as well as sue Spring Hill officials.<\/p>\n

The end goal of the lawsuit is a ‘restoration of dignity,’ Cox’s lawyer said<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ken Abbarno, Cox\u2019s attorney, said that his client has been \u201cretraumatized\u201d by every step of the lawsuit\u2019s process, according to NBC 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAubrey has really had a difficult time trying to work her way through what happened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> called and emailed Abbarno\u2019s firm, DLG for Me, to ask for a comment on this case, but has not received a response.<\/p>\n

The end goal of this lawsuit, Abbarno told NBC 15, is change, a restoration of dignity, and financial damages.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring Hill preaches accepting responsibility to others,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want them to accept responsibility for themselves here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cox faces criminal charges of her own. Cox went on what Megan Doggett, an attorney who defended Kokali against criminal rape charges, called a \u201csocial media rampage,\u201d in which she mentioned many people by name who are remotely associated with Vassil, according to Fox 10 News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cox is scheduled to be arraigned for two misdemeanor harassing communications charges on July 20 in Mobile Municipal Court. She is set to be arraigned on those charges in Mobile Municipal Court on July 20, Fox 10 reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring Hill College is committed to providing students with a safe environment that is conducive to personal growth and learning,\u201d the college wrote in a statement to NBC<\/a> in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of our students is of the utmost importance. We have in place a number of initiatives to prevent and address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. We plan to review this litigation and address it through the legal process.”<\/p>\n

MORE: Ex-college president sentenced for sex crimes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGE: WKRG\/YouTube<\/p>\n

\n