A University of Notre Dame student is suing the school and one of its academic coaches, claiming the coach coerced him into having sex with her daughter.
The academic coach has reportedly been fired amid these allegations, according to the New York Daily News.
The student, an African-American male, claims that his tutor, a white woman, pressured him into having sex with her daughter while "demeaning" him with "racially-charged comments about his sexual prowess and genitalia," according to the lawsuit.
A press release issued Friday by the firm representing the student claimed the unnamed academic coach had a history of arranging sexual encounters with her daughter and other African-American male students and athletes. "When the student repented and began to question the arrangement, he was referred to 'counseling' with a friend of the academic coach, another employee at Notre Dame," the release added.
The release also said details of the situation were given to Notre Dame officials two weeks ago, but the university did not respond or act on the claims.
"The failure to respond and react reflects a double standard by some at the University, as the objectification would not have been tolerated under any other set of circumstances," the release said.
The 11-page lawsuit says the student enrolled at Notre Dame in the fall of 2014, and alleges that the coach began providing academic support to the student in the spring of 2015. Immediately, she allegedly initiated a "sexually and racially motived inappropriate and demeaning relationship" and commanded the student to engage in sexual relations with her daughter. The academic coach allegedly provided lodging, condoms and transportation.
The lawsuit also claims that the academic coach arranged for the student to receive psychiatric support, wherein the student was medicated in order to "keep him passive, cooperative, and under control ... ." Additionally, the academic coach also allegedly pressured the student to convert to Catholicism.
Notre Dame did not respond to a Huffington Post request for comment. Paul Brown, vice president of public affairs and communications at Notre Dame, released the following statement to the South Bend Tribune:
The allegations against the University of Notre Dame in the complaint are unfounded, as are gratuitous and unfounded references to 'student athletes' — an allegation that is nothing more than a cynical attempt to attract publicity.
The lawsuit concluded that the alleged conduct resulted in "severe emotional distress, stress and embarrassment due to the degrading and demeaning method in which he [the student] was treated, his future earning capacity has been diminished due to his academics being negatively affected and, thus, employment prospects hindered."
It declared that the university is "vicariously liable" for its employee's discriminatory and harassing conduct.