(CN) — A federal judge dismissed Title IX claims against the University of Utah on Monday, finding that the school doesn’t have liability for an assault by one of its football players that occurred at an off-campus house party.
The case stems from a September 2019 incident in which Sione Lund, then a University of Utah linebacker, sexually assaulted Utah Valley University sophomore Marissa Root at a house party held at Lund’s parents’ house.
Following the assault, Root went to the hospital to complete a rape kit and reported the assault to her school’s Title IX office at the urging of hospital staff, according to her initial complaint. She then reported the sexual assault to the University of Utah’s Title IX office.
In her initial complaint, Root named both schools as well as the Utah System of Higher Education as defendants and accused the schools’ Title IX offices of sending her away and discouraging her from reporting the assault to the police.
In a March 2023 order, U.S. District Judge David Barlow dismissed the claims against the Utah System of Higher Education and Utah Valley University, finding that schools can only be held liable for rape in cases in which they have substantial control over the accused rapist and the context of the assault.
On Monday, Barlow’s seven-page order largely echoed the earlier finding, with the Donald Trump-appointed judge finding that the school had no control over the sexual assault its athlete committed because it occurred at a private residence at an event unaffiliated with the university.
Under Title IX, no education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance can discriminate on the basis of sex, which includes sexual harassment.
To have succeeded in her claim against the University of Utah, Root had to show the school had actual knowledge of the harassment and acted deliberately indifferent in a way that deprived her of access to the opportunities provided by the school. Barlow found that the university didn’t have substantial control over the off-campus harassment because the party wasn’t connected to the school, which was enough to dismiss the case in its entirety.
As the party was held off campus at Lund’s house, there was no record it was connected to or sponsored by the school.
“The record would not permit a finding that the university had control over this off-campus, privately owned residence, or the party that occurred there,” Barlow wrote. “Nor did the university own the land or otherwise regulate the parents’ home.”
Root had argued the school had a special control over Lund and the football team’s off-campus activities through its players policy manual, which included a date rape and social policy section instructing players to treat women with respect. She also argued that most, if not all, of the men at the party were members of the football team.
However, Barlow rejected the argument, noting that the policy doesn’t mean the university “has control over the context of virtually every off-campus location in which one or more of its athletes attends a private party.”
Root’s arguments “effectively conflate control over the harasser with control over the context in which the known harassment occurs,” Barlow determined.
Barlow’s order brought an end to the case over three years after Root filed her first complaint. While the civil case was pending in federal court, Lund faced criminal charges for attempted forced sodomy in state court. In April 2023, after accepting a plea deal, Lund was sentenced to 30 days in jail for the sexual assault. He was also ordered to pay $1,400 in restitution and serve 48 months probation.
Attorneys for Root and the University of Utah did not respond to a request for comment before press time.