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Cherelle Jovanna Locklear: Suicide Blamed On William Paterson University’s Failure To Investigate Rape

By Jennifer Deutschmann
Published on: 06:30 PST, Sep 15, 2016

Cherelle Jovanna Locklear was found dead in her William Paterson University dorm room on November 22, 2015. Less than one year later, her mother filed a lawsuit blaming the university for her daughter’s suicide. According to the complaint, WPU’s failure to investigate Cherelle Locklear’s alleged rape drove the student to end her life.

A native of Jackson, Cherelle began attending classes at New Jersey’s William Paterson University in 2012.

According to reports, Locklear was raped at the university’s Sigma Pi Fraternity house on September 25, 2015. Although she did not report the alleged assault, the student attempted suicide less than one month later.

As reported by Raw Story, Cherelle Jovanna Locklear was hospitalized as a result of the overdose. Following her release, she confessed that she was raped and sought support from William Paterson University’s Victim Services department.

According to reports, Cherelle spoke with Victim Services coordinator Theresa A. Bivaletz about the incident. However, although the student asked her to, Bivaletz did not report the alleged assault to the campus police department.

Due to the coordinator’s inaction, Locklear reported the incident to campus authorities herself in November of 2015.

According to the recently-filed lawsuit, the campus police department never followed up on the allegations and charges were never filed against Cherelle Locklear’s accused rapist.

“Even after receiving the report of the sexual assault, the university police department utterly failed to perform an appropriate and thorough investigation.”

Court documents specifically name detectives Ellen DeSimone and Michael John Arp, who are accused of failing “to act as required by law to investigate the assault and protect Cherelle’s safety.” According to reports, the alleged suspect was neither “confronted or charged” by the detectives.

The lawsuit also alleges university officials largely ignored other reports of sexual assault and rape. As reported by NJ.com, William Paterson University is therefore accused of fostering “a climate in which such misconduct against women was tolerated.”

On November 22, 2015, Cherelle Jovanna Locklear was found dead in her Willian Paterson University dorm room. According to reports, the 21-year-old woman’s roommates found her hanging in the restroom with a necktie secured around her neck.

Cherelle’s mother has now filed a lawsuit, which contends university officials and the campus police department are directly responsible for her daughter’s death. In her opinion, their failure to properly investigate the alleged assault drove her daughter to end her own life.

One year prior to Cherelle Locklear’s death, William Paterson University was involved in another sexual assault case that shocked the nation.

On November 25, 2014, a freshman student was allegedly raped by five classmates in a WPU dorm room. As reported by the Daily Mail, the unidentified teen said she was held against her will and “forced to perform multiple sex acts” on her alleged attackers.

All five suspects were immediately expelled from William Paterson University and were arrested and charged with numerous criminal counts, including aggravated sexual assault and criminal restraint. The alleged attackers vehemently denied the charges and insisted the sex was consensual.

The charges against all five men were dismissed after a grand jury determined there was not enough evidence to indict.

Chief Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Lisa Squitieri said she will “respect the decision reached through the legal process.” However, she also explained that “the University has its own student conduct process that is independent of the state’s legal proceedings.”

Although the university took immediate action against the five students accused of the 2014 rape, William Paterson University is accused of failing to properly respond to the alleged rape of Cherelle Jovanna Locklear. WPU officials have not commented on the lawsuit at this time.

[Featured Image by BABAROGA/Shutterstock]

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