Former Student Sues UCSB over Sexual Assault Case

Accompanied by her lawyer and father, a former UCSB student announced Thursday at a press conference that she has filed a federal complaint against the UC Regents. Hayley Moore claims UCSB failed to investigate her sexual assault by a fellow UCSB student, even after Moore reported the incident to multiple campus officials. She is suing for damages, civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees, among other costs.

In October 2014, Moore’s freshman year, she was allegedly drugged at an Isla Vista party and raped by a student at his nearby apartment. Soon after, she gave statements to UCPD and to multiple campus resources intended to help survivors of sexual assault.

However, Moore claims various UCSB administrators discouraged her to seek an investigation through the school. According to the complaint, she was “told that [campus] sexual assault investigations often come down to ‘he said, she said’ and rarely resolve in favor of the victim.” Later that school year, without having pursued a campus investigation, Moore withdrew from college to move back home.

Attorney Alexander Zalkin of the San Diego-based Zalkin Law Firm, which specializes in campus sexual assault cases, represents Moore. At the press conference held in the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort, Zalkin cited UCSB’s obligation to respond “adequately, promptly, and equitably to such reports.” He told reporters his client wants the school to change its policies and “take these issues seriously.”

Kate Moser, spokesperson for the University of California Office of the President, was unable to comment on pending litigation, but referred The Independent to a webpage for the UC’s task force for preventing sexual assault and sexual violence.

Hayley Moore and her father, Michael Moore, gave statements Thursday. “I had a panic attack in my human sexuality course,” and couldn’t focus in statistics or acting class after the assault, said Hayley Moore. “That’s how she lost her virginity on her mother’s birthday… It doesn’t get much worse than that…” Michael Moore said, teary-eyed.

Last year, six people challenged UCSB’s handling of their sexual assault cases when they signed a federal complaint against the university.