The judge, Mark E. Walker of the Northern District of Florida, did not agree. “Outing an alleged rape victim simply because other parties or individuals involved in the lawsuit are not proceeding anonymously serves no legitimate public interest,” he said in his decision on one of Florida A&M’s motions.
S.B.’s lawyer, Michael Dolce, said there was no comparison between the stigma and shame a victim of sexual assault can face and the embarrassment endured by a university official accused of bureaucratic mistakes. The school’s efforts, he added, were intended to intimidate the woman into dropping her suit.
S.B. declined a request to talk about the case on Wednesday, even without using her full name, saying she was “just too afraid,” according to her lawyer.
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