FINDLAY -- Two University of Findlay student athletes are appealing their expulsion after a university investigation found a “preponderance of evidence” suggesting they were involved in a campus sexual assault.
Dave Emsweller, vice president for student affairs, said the university on Friday dismissed basketball player Alphonso Baity and football player Justin Browning. Findlay’s athletic department Web site lists Mr. Baity as a sophomore from Henderson, Ky. and Mr. Browning as a freshman from Detroit.
A female student reported a sexual assault to a university health center employee on Wednesday, Mr. Emsweller said. The assault allegedly took place overnight Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 in campus housing where the two accused students lived. Mr. Emsweller would not detail the specifics of the complaint.
A university investigative group interviewed the accused students and witnesses Thursday and “reached a conclusion that there was a preponderance of evidence that suggested there was a sexual assault,” he said.
The victim can file a complaint with the police, though there is no law enforcement investigation underway currently, he said.
Mr. Emsweller said the former students are appealing their dismissals. He will review the information and make a decision on whether to modify, overturn, or sustain the expulsion.
First Published October 6, 2014, 7:56 p.m.
