As two men await trial on sexual assault charges related to alleged incidents at Wayne State College last spring, the school is defending its handling of disciplinary proceedings against the two suspects.
Nokutendaishe Joel and Katlego “Colin” Nqandela, both 21 and students from South Africa, are charged with first-degree sexual assault in connection with allegations made by a student following a gathering at a campus dormitory in April.
Joel and Nqandela are each accused of independently sexually assaulting the same 20-year-old woman. The woman was a student at Wayne State University at the time and has since withdrawn from classes because of Joel’s acceptance into the school.
Joel, who was arrested on May 21, was released in June after posting 10% of a $100,000 bail, while Nqandela, who was arrested on May 2, remains in custody on $250,000 bail.
At the time of the alleged sexual assault, Nqandela had already withdrawn from classes at the school, and there is no indication that he is still enrolled at the college. However, Joel is enrolled at Wayne State this fall and has not been formally disciplined by the school pending a Title IX hearing. He is permitted to attend in-person classes, which the victim said played a role in her decision not to continue her education at Wayne State.
Joel was placed on “dorm probation,” which prohibits him from entering any dorms other than the one he lives in. Multiple sources, including the victim, claimed Joel repeatedly violated his dorm probation.
According to the victim, Joel’s dorm ban was imposed after the victim reported the alleged assaults to police in April and later to Wayne State’s Title IX coordinator Alicia Dorcey. The victim and Dorcey have been in regular contact since the victim’s confession, according to emails the victim provided to the Daily News.
In both emails and an interview, the victim expressed dissatisfaction with the college’s response and was shocked that Joel was not only allowed to remain a student at Wayne State but was also allowed to be on campus.
However, Wayne State is subject to federal Title IX policy, which requires colleges to go through a grievance process before imposing disciplinary sanctions or other non-supportive actions.
When a formal complaint is filed, the College’s investigation will include meeting with all parties involved, gathering information, conducting a hearing and, depending on the outcome of the hearing, taking action.
“It is important to note that as part of this process, we work closely with the individuals involved to maintain a timeline that takes their needs and wishes into account,” the college said in a statement. “Our Title IX coordinator regularly communicates with all parties about the status of the investigation, and the parties are involved in decisions to set timelines and schedule hearings.”
Dorcey had investigated the complaint against Joel and was in contact with the victim to schedule a hearing at which both sides would have the opportunity to present their case.
The victim said in a conversation with Dorcey in late July that she wanted to pause the hearing process and would not return to campus. The victim told the Daily News that her legal counsel advised her that a Title IX hearing would jeopardize the ongoing criminal case against Joel.
In a July 31 email, Dorcey informed the victim that while Wayne State could pause the hearing process, Title IX prevented the college from punishing Joel or taking adverse action against him based solely on the victim’s report and without a “determination of responsibility.”
In the email, Dorcey said the victim could return to Wayne State University at any time and that the college would continue to offer all supportive measures, including counseling, academic support and no-contact orders.
The victim and other women have expressed frustration with Wayne State University’s Title IX policies, saying they allow people like Joel to continue victimizing women without fear of repercussions. That frustration led to a protest on Wayne State University’s campus on Sunday, where women expressed their dissatisfaction with how Joel’s case was handled.
Wayne State stated that its legal obligations following an allegation of sexual assault on campus are governed by Title IX.
The 20-year-old woman and a second woman who was allegedly sexually abused by Joel detailed Joel and Nqandela’s past behaviour towards women and said the two had a routine of harassing women.
The two men are accused of repeatedly taking women’s cellphones or other items at parties and saying they would not return them until the women provided their phone numbers or Snapchat information. In some cases, the alleged perpetrators took a woman’s belongings home to force the woman to pick up her belongings, the women said.
“They have a pattern,” the 20-year-old victim told the Daily News. “It’s only a matter of time before the same thing happens to other women.”
The victim also spoke out about Wayne State University’s decision not to make any public statements about the arrest of Nqandela and Joel, as other students would have learned of the allegations.
Wayne State said the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) sets requirements to protect the privacy of parents and students. FERPA prohibits a college from sharing information about a student without their consent.
There are exceptions that allow the school to release information about health and safety emergencies. The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines that allow such disclosures when they are necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or others. However, disclosure is limited to the duration of the emergency and generally does not allow blanket release.
The Department of Education said these disclosures must be related to an actual, threatened or imminent emergency, such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, campus shooting or epidemic outbreak.
However, some academic institutions, such as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, notify their students when a sexual assault is reported to have occurred on campus. UNL provides where the incident occurred and a description of the perpetrator if the suspect has not yet been caught.
Wayne State acknowledged that incidents like this one could be distressing to the campus community “if Title IX does not allow the college to act as decisively or quickly as the parties or others would like. Therefore, we make every effort to clearly communicate our processes and procedures to those who reach out to us.”
Although the process can be stressful, the college takes allegations of sexual assault “very seriously,” the college said.
Reports of Joel and Nqandela’s cases emerged in early August, and the campus protest over the college’s handling of the allegations took place on the eve of the first day of school in the fall. Wayne State said its commitment to the safety of its campus community is “core to what we do.”
“We will continue to take all necessary steps to uphold these values and ensure that Wayne State remains a place where every student can succeed in a safe and respectful environment,” the college said.
Joel’s attorney, Nate Stratton, filed a motion to dismiss on August 6, contesting a district court’s finding that there was enough evidence to send Joel’s case to district court. If convicted, Joel faces up to 50 years in prison.
Nqandela, who is also charged with selling alcohol to minors, has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 51 years in prison if convicted.
Both men are scheduled to appear in Wayne County District Court on Wednesday, September 4.
