Brown University Sued by Biologically Male Transgender Student Accused of Sexual Assault

Brown University has been sued for alleged discrimination by a transgender student who was accused of sexual assault by a classmate and former friend, who is also named as a defendant in the suit.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Providence federal district court by attorneys representing the transgender plaintiff, a biologically male student using the pseudonym “Lois Lane.”

Lane claims that the defendant, a biologically female student identified only as “Jane Roe,” filed a false complaint of sexual misconduct and harassed and intimidated Lane. This allegedly caused the plaintiff to suffer emotional damage and loss of educational opportunities, according to legal filings obtained by National Review. The case was first reported by a local news outlet, GoLocalProv.

Lane argues that the university showed prejudice against Lane in the way it accommodated and favored the defendant.

In the fall of 2020, Jane Roe filed an informal complaint with Brown’s Title IX and Gender Equity Office accusing Lane of sexually harassing her at a co-ed fraternity party on campus months prior on February 15, 2020. Lane asserts that the encounter was consensual.

Lane also contends that Roe violated university policy by retaliating, tipping off an on-campus organization called “Technology House,” where Lane was a member, about the sexual assault investigation, leading the club leadership to oust Lane from the project manager position.

While Lane claims that Roe reported a fabricated story depicting Lane as a predator and Roe as a victim, Lane also blames Brown for engaging in discrimination on the basis of gender identity by denying Lane’s request to live in a dorm according to gender identity rather than biological sex.

In January 2021, Lane was housed in a dormitory suite with four male students, even though Lane wanted to be placed in “gender-neutral housing.”

“Prior to the start of freshman year, Plaintiff expressed a preference for and requested gender-neutral housing. Brown was fully aware in January 2021 of Plaintiff’s gender identity but Brown failed to take it into account in its January 2021 housing assignment,” the lawsuit states.

Lane then had to “relocate to another dormitory, then having Brown demand that Plaintiff change housing again, [which] caused Plaintiff substantial emotional distress and anxiety and was disruptive of their studies,” it adds.

While Brown automatically assigns first-year students to live with roommates of their same legal sex, the school notes that “for some students, being automatically placed with a roommate or roommates of the same legal sex may not best provide for a student’s comfort or safety.” In those cases, the oniversity offers gender-inclusive on-campus housing, “regardless of gender identity and expression.”

“Gender Inclusive Housing is intended primarily for students whose gender identity and/or legal sex do not allow them to be comfortable with a traditional roommate assignment (including but not limited to students who identify as transgender, genderqueer, etc.),” the university website states.

The suit brings eight counts against Brown and Roe, including breach of contract, a hostile education environment, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.

Brown University and Lane’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The attorney representing Brown University and Roe declined to comment on the case.