University of Missouri turns information over to Columbia police about alleged assault
The University of Missouri has submitted information to the Columbia Police Department about the alleged assault of a former student athlete, while the university’s president has ordered a comprehensive review of the case.
Just minutes after an ESPN “Outside the Lines” story aired, detailing the alleged rape of Sasha Menu Courey, the university’s failure to respond to the assault, and her suicide, MU released a statement.
In the statement, the university said as a result of the ESPN investigation, the MU Police Department turned information over to Columbia police on Saturday. The information included the names of individuals who may have more information about the alleged Feb. 2010 assault of MU swimmer Menu Courey.
According to the ESPN investigation,Menu Courey was allegedly assaulted by a member of the football team.
Following the alleged incident, Menu Courey underwent psychiatric treatment at university facilities after an attempt to kill herself.
On Jan. 17, 2011, Sasha took her own life. Doctors from the MU Psychiatric Center reportedly diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder.
The university said in the statement the assault occurred off campus and therefore it is in the jurisdiction of Columbia authorities.
MU officials say they were originally unable to pursue any actions because there was never a formal complaint from the victim or her family, and privacy laws prohibited medical staff from reporting any client information.
The university also said ESPN did not share any names of people who may have known about the alleged assault, despite requests to do so.
In a letter to the UM System chancellors, President Tim Wolfe requested the board of curators hire an outside independent counsel to investigate how the university handled the alleged assault case.
Wolfe also told chancellors to begin a review of each campuses’ policies for involving the prevention and reporting of sexual assaults and the availability of mental health services.
Read the full statement from the University of Missourihere.
ABC 17 News reached out to ESPN to see if they had a response to the letters released by the University and the University President. ESPN said they stand by their reporting.
The UM system spokesman, John Fougere told ABC 17 News, “The president made the recommendation to the board of curators for them to approve the hiring of an independent outside council to review the way the matter was handled.”
