Lawsuit Filed Following Criminal Plea Bargain

Katherine Schoepflin, Manley Burke LPA, kschoepflin@manleyburke.com

The former President of the Phi Delta Theta Chapter at Baylor University and the National Fraternity are being sued for $1 million dollars following a plea deal stemming from a 2016 sexual assault case. The deal guaranteed no jail time for the accused.

Former Chapter President Jacob Anderson was accused by a then-sophomore, known only as “Donna Doe,” of
sexually assaulting her at a fraternity party in 2016 and leaving her “to die face down in her own vomit.” Anderson entered into a plea on December 11, 2018. Under the terms of the plea, Anderson will serve three (3) years of probation and pay a $400 fine, but will not have to register as a sex offender and will not face jail time. Since Anderson plead no contest to a lesser charge of unlawful restraint instead of sexual assault and did not go to trial, there is a chance the charge will never appear on his record.

Donna Doe says this verdict is not enough to get justice for what happened to her or to protect other women in the future. Donna has filed a lawsuit against Anderson and Phi Delta Theta, and is expected to seek damages of $1 million. Doe has named twenty-six (26) defendants, including all the officers of the Chapter, in the suit which alleges, among other things, that the Fraternity did not have policies or procedures in place to monitor the alcohol consumption of guests, knowingly served alcohol to minors, and did not have a policy in place for preventing or reporting sexual assaults.

Doe is also suing the landlord who owns the house, Jennette Hunicutt, who she claims knew the house was being used as a fraternity house—something Baylor does not allow.

Fraternal Law will continue to monitor and report on this case as it further develops.