Texas Rangers open preliminary investigation at Baylor

WACO—The Texas Rangers have launched a preliminary inquiry into circumstances surrounding sexual assault at Baylor University.

“The Texas Rangers are working with the local prosecutor to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if further action is warranted,” said Tom Vinger, public information officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Confirmation of the preliminary probe followed less than a week after Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, filed HR 664, calling on the Texas Legislature to urge Gov. Greg Abbott to “direct the Texas Rangers with investigating the obstruction of justice surrounding the sexual assault of young female students at Baylor University.” 

In a Feb. 27 statement, Gutierrez asserted Baylor thrust Texas “into the national spotlight for all the worst reasons,” and he called for $5 million to be reallocated from border security operations to “address the travesty of the Baylor cover-up.”

Baylor pledges cooperation

In a brief statement, the university promised to cooperate with the investigative agency.

“Baylor University pledges to extend our full cooperation with the Texas Rangers surrounding the issue of sexual assaults that occurred within our campus community several years ago, as we have done with other external inquiries that are currently under way,” the statement said.

Those “other external inquiries” include an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights regarding potential Title IX violations, the law that bars sexual discrimination at any university receiving federal financial assistance.

On its “The Facts about the Sexual Assault Crisis at Baylor” website, the university noted representatives from the Office of Civil Rights were on campus the week of Feb. 27 to meet with administrators and students.

Baylor also is named in several lawsuits filed by women who assert the university failed to protect their safety or deal properly with their sexual assault claims.

Pepper Hamilton reveals ‘fundamental failure’

Baylor’s board of regents hired the Pepper Hamilton law firm to conduct an independent external investigation after Sam Ukwuachu, a former Baylor Bears football player, was convicted and received a 180-day jail sentence and 10 years’ probation for sexual assault. 

After a briefing by Pepper Hamilton last May, the board announced the investigation revealed a “fundamental failure” by Baylor to implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.

The regents released a 13-page “Findings of Fact” document based on the oral report the board received from Pepper Hamilton. 

The board removed Ken Starr as president, fired Head Football Coach Art Briles and sanctioned Athletic Director Ian McCaw. Starr later stepped down as chancellor and law professor, and McCaw resigned as athletic director.

Baylor implements recommendations

Regents also released a 10-page set of 105 recommendations from Pepper Hamilton. The university reports it has implemented 80 of the recommendations so far, and it is reviewing about 125 reports of sexual assault or harassment from 2011 to 2015.

Baylor also noted its university police department “has made significant strides in its response to sexual violence and overall campus safety, such as the increase of on-campus cameras, increase of officers and dispatchers, and the expansion of crime prevention programs.”

In 2014, Baylor commissioned an external audit of its police department that resulted in the university hiring a new police chief and creating the associate vice president for public safety and security position to oversee the department.

The university also reported it has invested $4.3 million in its Title IX office and other services for sexual assault victims since November 2014, expanded its Title IX staff to seven full-time positions and doubled the number of staff in its university counseling center, adding 18 positions.

Baylor crisis prompts additional legislation

In other related developments in the Texas Legislature, the Baylor sexual assault crisis prompted Baylor alumnus Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, to file several bills:

• SB 966 protects minors who report sexual assault to health care providers, law enforcement personnel or Title IX coordinators from being prosecuted for underage possession or consumption of alcohol. 
• SB 967 closes loopholes in the penal code’s definition for sexual consent. 
• SB 968 requires institutions to provide an option to students and employees to report electronically and anonymously an incident of sexual assault, family violence or stalking.
• SB 969 provides amnesty to students who commit a student conduct code violation if they are a victim of a sexual assault or a reporting witness. 
• SB 970 requires an affirmative consent standard at all institutions of higher education. 

Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, also filed a bill that would hold the governing boards of private institutions to the same standards as public institutions with respect to open meetings and records—a measure applauded by Bears for Leadership Reform, an organization of Baylor alumni and donors that has called the Baylor board of regents to greater transparency.