HARRISONBURG, Va. (WRIC) — The dean of students at James Madison University says the school’s sexual assault policies can get better.
Last Friday, 8News exposed a JMU student and Chesterfield resident, Abby Gainsforth, will have to spend her senior year with her attacker on campus.
Gainsforth told 8News she fears she’ll have to come face to face with him in her most important year of college.
An internal university investigation found him responsible for sexual misconduct and he was suspended. He was not expelled.
In a statement to JMU’s school paper, “The Breeze”, Dean Josh Bacon says, “I think students who sexually assault someone and rape someone should no longer be in an institution; they should be expelled.”
A spokesperson for JMU told 8News that Bacon was speaking generally on sexual misconduct and not specifically about JMU’s policies.
But we’re told JMU is always revising their policies and Bacon does plan to meet with the Student Government Association.
As you may remember, 8News told you last week JMU’s SGA is proposing changes to the university’s sexual misconduct policies including stricter punishments.
