Student Fights Expulsion for a Threesome

PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) - A student claims Reed College expelled him because his jealous ex-girlfriend falsely accused him of forcing her into group sex, months before he started dating her friend.

John Doe sued Reed Institute aka Reed College and his ex-girlfriend, Jane Roe, on Tuesday in Federal Court. His 58-page lawsuit challenges not only his expulsion, but the process by which he was expelled.

John claims he and Jane had been dating for 10 months, when on July 25, 2013 they "engaged in fully consensual group sexual activity with a woman who had recently graduated from Reed, but who was still attending classes there ('AM')."

"That sexual activity occurred after all three - John, Jane, and AM - knowingly and voluntarily consumed drugs and alcohol," John says. He says it was not the first time he and Jane had had "group sexual encounters after consuming drugs and alcohol."

John says he and Jane dated for three more months, until he broke up with her.

Five months after that, he says, he started dating a friend of Jane's. In retaliation, she claimed for the first time that she had never consented to the July 25 threesome, according to the complaint.

He calls Jane's "malicious and false, brought in bad faith, and intended to retaliate against John for dating her friend, rather than to vindicate legitimate or honest concerns."

John says Reed set up a kangaroo court to expel him.

"Reed - concerned by years of reports criticizing the school for its permissive culture and purportedly weak sexual assault policies - responded to Jane's accusations with a series of arbitrary, discriminatory, and illegal actions directed toward a predetermined outcome: John's expulsion from Reed," the complaint states.

John says the college ignored evidence that proved his innocence.

He says that AM, the third member of the threesome, submitted sworn testimony that Jane was "fully aware of what was going on" and "was totally into it, enthusiastic and seemed to be really enjoying herself."

John also claims that AM told the college that two days after the group sex, Jane had told her that she "had enjoyed the experience."

He claims that another female student, ML, who was at the off-campus party where the group sex occurred, gave sworn testimony that John "repeatedly (but unsuccessfully) encouraged ML to join in the group sexual activity, and that Jane did not appear intoxicated or impaired at the time of that solicitation."

In fact, John claims, in August 2013 Jane told him in writing that she wanted to repeat the group sex experience with AM, and "identified another female student as a 'sex goal' for the upcoming semester."

Reed College spokesman Kevin Myers told Courthouse News that John's lawsuit does not paint the full picture of what happened.

"Not everything made it into that lawsuit," Myers said in a telephone interview.

But John claims that Reed ignored the evidence he presented, expelled him, and "literally labeled him a rapist, a slander that it has promised to repeat to anyone who asks."

Myers said the decision to expel John was not made lightly.

"We understand the impact that these cases have on both parties. We take that very seriously. We've done a tremendous amount of work making sure that our policies and procedures are in line with all the relevant laws," Myers said.

John wants Reed to let him re-enroll, expunge his academic record of any charges relating to Jane's claims, and give him a notarized letter confirming the expungement.

He also wants damages and punitive damages for breach of contract, Title IX violations, breach of faith, deceptive trade, defamation, malicious use and abuse of process and intentional interference with contract.

He is represented by David Angeli, who did not respond to a request for comment.

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