The father of a University of Texas at Arlington student who committed suicide last year has filed a lawsuit against the university accusing administrators of discrimination and improperly handling an investigation involving his son.
Last May a male student accused Thomas Klocke of sexual harassment and sexual violence following an incident that occurred during a class the two men had together.
"The tragedy in all of it beyond the outcome is that the discipline was doled out to him. The administrators who had handled the case understood that they had circumvented a process that was designed to protect kids," said Kenneth Chaiken, the family's attorney.
According to the lawsuit Klocke's accuser said Klocke made disparaging remarks about homosexuals. Klocke denied the allegations saying he was the target of the student's unwelcome sexual advances.
Following an investigation Klocke was kicked out the class. Chaiken said that kept the 24-year-old from finding his own witnesses to back up his version of events.
"From the day the complaint was made, Thomas was prevented from even developing a witness summary," Chaiken said.
The lawsuit singes out two high-level administrators at UTA: Heather Snow and Daniel Moore.
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The lawsuit accuses the pair of taking matters into their own hands and mishandling the investigation.
"They admitted and acknowledged to each other that they didn't have any evidence to support any punishment, but they punished him anyway. The matter should have been reported to a Title IX coordinator who oversaw the investigation, received information about what the investigation showed, and then that person would have made a determination as to whether there would have been a hearing in accordance with those policies and procedures." Chaiken said.
Klocke's father is also suing his son's accuser for defamation. Chaiken said this case will serve as a wake up call to colleges and universities across the country, that if allegations of sexual misconduct are not properly investigated both the accuser and the accused suffer.
"This case isn't about what they said to each other, and it isn't who was wrong and who was right in the moment. It's about due process and fairness," he said. "There needs to be an awareness of the devastating outcomes of when fairness isn't there."
UTA sent the following statement to NBC 5 in response to the lawsuit:
"This is a tragic situation and we express our deepest condolences to the family for their loss. The welfare of our students is our highest priority. Any loss is a heartbreaking one for our entire community. The university followed its policies and procedures. This is now the subject of a lawsuit in federal court; therefore, we are unable to respond further at this time."
