Ludlow sues Medill senior for defamation in sexual assault case

Tyler Pager, Breaking News Editor

Philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow filed a defamation lawsuit Tuesday against the Medill senior who said Ludlow sexually assaulted her in 2012, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Ludlow’s suit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, alleges the student made false claims to the media and Northwestern professors after he rejected her sexual advances.

This will be the third lawsuit to come in the aftermath of the Medill senior’s initial Title IX lawsuit.

The senior first filed a federal lawsuit in February against NU, saying the University handled her sexual assault complaint against Ludlow with “deliberate indifference and retaliation.”

In the lawsuit, she claimed Ludlow sexually assaulted her after the two attended an art show in Chicago in February 2012. According to the suit, Ludlow provided the student with alcohol and brought her to his apartment, ignoring her repeated requests to return to Evanston. The student took a class with Ludlow in fall 2011.

After an internal investigation, the University concluded in April 2012 that Ludlow made “unwelcome and inappropriate sexual advances” toward the student, according to investigation documents obtained by The Daily.

The University denied mishandling the student’s complaint and “imposed several disciplinary sanctions and corrective actions against Ludlow,” according to NU’s response. After the internal investigation, NU revoked Ludlow’s appointment to an endowed professorship, denied him a pay raise and banned him from contacting the student.

In the suit against NU, the student asked the University for remedial action against Ludlow, reparation for emotional distress and payment for her education bills and past and future medical expenses.

She also sued Ludlow for unspecified monetary damages later that month under the Illinois Gender Violence Act.

Ludlow sued NU in June for defamation, gender discrimination and invasion of privacy. The suit alleges the University acted “with malice and with reckless indifference” with regard to Ludlow’s rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The Medill senior’s initial lawsuit resulted in multiple protests of NU’s sexual assault policies. Ludlow did not finish teaching his 300-level philosophy course Winter Quarter and did not teach in the spring or fall.

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Previous stories on this topic:

    Ludlow sues Northwestern for gender discrimination, defamation
    Planned sit-in turns into protest of Northwestern’s sexual assault policies
    Student sues Northwestern, claiming University ignored sexual assault findings