Duke Settles With Soccer Player Accused Of Sexual Assault

Article here. Excerpt:

'Duke University has settled with a student who had been suspended for alleged sexual assault just before a trial over his lawsuit was about to begin, The Daily Wire has learned. This is the second time in six months that Duke has made such a settlement just before a trial.

Ciaran McKenna had his name dragged through the mud after a female student he met during his freshman year, when he was still 17, accused him of sexually assaulting her, according to The Duke Chronicle. The two had met at a bar on November 14, 2015, and began kissing as they danced together. The female student — who is not named in legal documents because she is not being sued — then invited McKenna back to her room, allegedly just to continue making out.

But McKenna says she didn’t object when he stopped to pick up a condom, and he says she did not deny consent through her words or actions. She says she told him “no” and pulled away before sex. McKenna says they engaged in other sexual activity before and after intercourse, and that she told him he didn’t have to wear a condom after it kept falling off.

Months later, the woman would claim McKenna sexually assaulted her, and a Duke hearing panel suspended him for six semesters. This panel, which heard the case on July 7, 2016, did not unanimously believe the woman verbally said “no,” during the activity, but also didn’t believe McKenna had demonstrated that he had obtained affirmative consent.'