FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – A student who was raped in a parking garage on the University of Mary Washington (UMW) campus filed a $10 million lawsuit against the school on Nov. 30. The student claims the university was negligent, as her attacker was able to enter the garage without being videotaped, photographed or stopped by security.
The student was assaulted at 2 a.m. while walking from her car – on the third floor of the parking garage – to her dorm room in Virginia Hall. Following the attack, university officials hired a security guard and installed cameras in the garage, the Free Lance-Star reports.
The lawsuit also refers to a controversial safety walk that took place at the university shortly after the student filed her claim. UMW President Judy Hample called campus police from a blue-light emergency phone at the parking garage and described a threat that was similar to what the student had experienced. A video of the safety walk showed participants laughing at Hample’s use of the phone. The lawsuit states that this incident humiliated and embarrassed the student.
Hample, who said that she was testing the emergency system, announced her resignation in February. It is effective June 30. She did not give a reason for her departure.
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