A former K-State student cited in a federal court lawsuit filed against the university who allegedly raped two different women in 2014 and 2015 pleaded not guilty to those charges Tuesday morning in Riley County District Court.
Jared Gihring appeared in court with Brenda Jordan as counsel.
The lawsuit, filed by the two women, argues KSU failed to perform its due diligence in investigating Gihring and that little action was taken against him after one of the women brought Gihring to K-State’s attention in May 2014. The lawsuit states she told the university’s Office of Affirmative Action she was raped by multiple K-State students at a fraternity party at Pillsbury Crossing outside of Manhattan, and again that night at a fraternity house located a quarter-mile from campus, with Gihring being the last one to do so.
While Gihring was investigated by authorities, no charges came from the Riley County Attorney’s Office and no punishment came from K-State. But that changed when Gihring was again accused of rape in April 2015 in an apartment at University Crossing.
Both women state in the lawsuit they were intoxicated at the time of the rapes. They also say K-State told them it doesn’t investigate off-campus rapes, even though federal Title IX law and the Department of Education explicitly tells schools to do so.
K-State did, however, tell one of the women she could write a complaint against the fraternity for alcohol use, according to the lawsuit.
Charges were amended in August by the Riley County Attorney’s Office to include the alleged 2014 rape after Gihring was again accused in 2015. Gihring was also expelled by KSU just before the start of the Fall 2016 semester.
Both women are no longer students of KSU.
A motions hearing for Gihring is scheduled for March 17 at 9 a.m. The court is eyeing a May trial.
