Father of student on University of Chicago's alleged 'rapist list' speaks out

Story here. Excerpt:

'The problem of sexual assault on the University of Chicago campus, and how the University is handling those cases, is top of mind for many.

Now, the father of one young man named on an anonymously posted list of alleged rapists has contacted FOX 32 News to say the allegations are false, made by a spurned lover after a make-out session.

The father said the University provided his son with a letter letter of exoneration. The man asked FOX 32 not to use his name because the university threatened his son with disciplinary action if he went public to defend himself. But at the same time the father said the University has refused to take action against the woman suspected of posting the young man's name on the 'rapist list.'

“Just because it's anonymous and because we don't really know anything about the process, it scares me that people have the ability to smear and slander anyone who they want,” said Ben Offen, a freshman from Boston.

The student's father plans to sue the woman and the university for defamation, and legal experts said he might have a good case.

“The First Amendment affords people the right to make lists and rank people according to how good looking they are or how much of a good guy or bad guy they are,” said Daliah Saper, a defamation attorney with Saper Law in Chicago. “But if that list turns into something more sinister or if you're accusing someone of a crime, then certainly you're not within your rights under the First Amendment to spread false statements of fact about individuals.”'