A woman sued Villanova University, saying the school’s negligence led to her rape

A woman who says she was raped two years ago while a student at Villanova University is accusing the school of turning a blind eye toward underaged drinking and sexual abuse in a building that’s notorious for partying which, she contends, led to her attack.

The woman, who filed a lawsuit under the pseudonym C.A., alleges that Villanova and the business entities that own and manage College Hall student housing failed to protect her from rape and sexual assault. College Hall is also known as the Courts.

The lawsuit, which was filed last week in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas but was transferred to federal court, also accuses Elijah Katzenell of raping C.A. with the assistance of two of his friends. The suit says Katzenell was a Villanova student at the time.

“Villanova engaged in conduct that demonstrated a willful and wanton disregard for the safety and well-being of its students, including C.A.,” the lawsuit states.

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It could not be determined Wednesday if Katzenell and his accuser are still students at Villanova. A spokesperson for Villanova said the university does not comment on pending litigation, but reiterated university policies prohibiting underaged drinking and condemning all forms of sexual violence.

“We find any kind of sexual misconduct abhorrent, and it is not tolerated at Villanova,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Katzenell could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A lawyer representing him, as well as College Hall Associates L.P., College Hall G.P., and Marks and Company USA, Inc., did not respond to The Inquirer’s request for comment.

The assault took place Aug. 25, 2022, during the first week of C.A.’s sophomore year, the lawsuit says. The underaged student participated in a party known as Sylly Night, an annual student event during the first week of school in which professors present class syllabi to students. It was held at College Hall on Montgomery Avenue in Bryn Mawr, and C.A. was among hundreds of Villanova students who drank alcohol and partied there, the lawsuit said.

Around midnight, as an intoxicated C.A. was heading to her dorm, she received a text message from Katzenell asking her to come to his dorm. There she drank more alcohol with Katzenell and two other students and eventually passed out. The next day, Katzenell told her that the two had sexual intercourse, according to the lawsuit. A police search of one of the students who were present uncovered a video of Katzenell having sex with C.A. while she was unconscious.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office charged Katzenell last year with felony charges including indecent sexual assault of an unconscious person, court dockets show. He is free on bail awaiting trial scheduled for the fall. His two alleged accomplices have not been charged with crimes.

C.A. accuses the three of conspiring to rape and assault her. She continues to suffer from flashbacks, nightmares, loss of self-worth, and inability to experience sexual intimacy following the assault, the lawsuit states.

An article in the Villanovan, the university’s student newspaper, from earlier this year describes College Hall as a hotbed of disorderly activity that Lower Merion police visit frequently as part of a joint crackdown with the university on problematic student conduct. About 100 Villanova students live there.

“College Hall is its own animal,” Lower Merion Police Lt. Edward Sarama told the Villanovan.

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There have been more than 160 calls to police regarding the housing complex since March 2021, according to the lawsuit. And yet, the lawsuit alleges, the university did not warn students of the risks of Sylly Night, and neither the owners nor the company managing the building took steps to add security or stop underaged drinking on that night in August 2022.

“Villanova was fully aware of ongoing student misbehavior, underage alcohol consumption and multiple violations of the law that occur and have occurred at the Courts for generations of Villanova students,” the lawsuit states.