A woman who attended Columbia University with Marcellus Wiley in the 1990s is suing the former NFL star for alleged sexual assault and rape.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court, the victim claims Wiley, 48, sexually assaulted and raped her in the fall of 1994 on the New York University campus.
The victim is also suing the university and its trustees, according to a lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE, accusing administrators at the Ivy League school of showing “favor” toward Wiley, which she believes led to the dismissal of her assault charges at the time.
The plaintiff alleges the assault occurred on November 18, 1994, when Wiley was a freshman, a sophomore and a player on the Lions football team. According to the lawsuit, he met with the victim in her friend’s room to listen to music.
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“Defendant Marcellus Wiley told plaintiff that he would come to visit her in her room later that evening,” the lawsuit states. “The prosecutor replied: ‘Okay, but I don’t have sex. I’m a virgin.’ Defendant Marcellus Wiley laughed and replied: ‘Relax, relax, whoa! I don’t think so! I’ll just stop by there to get some food from grandma [Restaurant], so I’ll just come up to say hello before I go back.’ The accused then joked that ‘no one likes to have sex with virgins’. ”
After the woman “apologized and assured the defendant that she was just being honest so he wouldn’t feel misled,” Wiley allegedly said “nobody’s trying to have sex with a non-virgin! Don’t worry, I got you. I just came to hang out while I eat. I don’t even have condoms with me.”
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According to the lawsuit, when Wiley arrived at the woman’s single room on the ninth floor of Shapiro Hall, the 6-foot-4-inch, 250-lb. the athlete allegedly “started to kiss her hard”. The lawsuit also alleges that Wiley raped the victim multiple times.
“[Wiley’s] the acts were intentionally designed to cause plaintiff severe emotional distress or were undertaken with reckless disregard for a substantial and/or substantial likelihood of causing plaintiff severe emotional distress,” the lawsuit states.
The woman later reported the assault to administrators at the university, who “dismissed” her allegation and discussed the alleged assault with Wiley before speaking to her, according to the lawsuit.
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At one point, the dean of residences, Kathleen McDermott, allegedly told the victim that she believed Wiley did not rape her because the prosecutor “was not from America and therefore misinterpreted the defendant’s behavior because people from different cultures interpret things differently,” the lawsuit states.
Beginning in the fall of 1993, the university received reports from other women who alleged that Wiley had sexually assaulted and/or raped them, the lawsuit states. The victim claims in her lawsuit that she was traumatized and later attempted suicide after the incident.
Columbia University representatives did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment on the lawsuit.
Since graduating from Columbia, Wiley played 10 seasons in the NFL as a defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. He later went on to work for ESPN and FS1 as a television host and currently hosts a podcast called More about that.
PEOPLE did not immediately reach Wiley for comment.
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Source: HIS Education