A jury cleared 23-year-old Frank Sullivan of all charges, including rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition and attempted gross sexual imposition.
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Sullivan’s lawyer, Scott Croswell, said the jury made the appropriate decision. During the trial, Croswell said Sullivan engaged in “boorish” behavior, but stopped his sexual advances when asked.
“When you have a case that is simply allegations with no corroboration of testimony, it’s difficult for a jury to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is exactly what happened,” Croswell said.
The jury of seven women and five men took just over two hours to come to their decision after two days of testimony.
Three women, all students at Wittenberg with Sullivan, accused him of separate sexual assaults between August 2015 and March. He was arrested in April.
All three women testified they had considered Sullivan a friend and repeatedly told him “no.”
The women were brave to come forward, said Laura Baxter, executive director of Project Woman, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
“Survivorship … is not defined by a court outcome,” Baxter said.
A reader who identified herself as one of the women who accused Sullivan commented on a Springfield News-Sun online article and told victims of sexual assault not to be ashamed.
“We lost (the trial) and I don’t know how I’m going to live with this for the rest of my life, but that doesn’t mean we should continue to be silent. Be strong,” the commenter said.
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The women claimed to be either under the influence of alcohol or asleep when they alleged Sullivan assaulted them.
One in five female undergraduates have experienced some kind of sexual assault while in college, according to a 2016 Bureau of Justice Statistics study.
One in four people is a victim of a sexual assault in their lifetime, Baxter said.
The issue of sexual assaults on campus has created national dialogue in recent years, prompting action from the White House in 2014 to start a Task Force To Protect Students from Sexual Assault.
Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said he respects the jury’s decision but was disappointed.
Wilson’s team wants the victims to know they believed them and were willing to fight.
“These young women said no — No means no — and the defendant’s actions constituted criminal acts,” Wilson said.
Project Woman strives to make sure victims of sexual assault don’t feel alone, Baxter said.
“We’re there to support their strength to continue on toward healing and moving on with their life,” she said.
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