Northwestern Professor Accused Of Sexual Assault Sues Accuser
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A Northwestern University professor accused in a lawsuit of attempting to sexually assault a former student is now suing his accuser for defamation, claiming her false accusations invaded his privacy and hindered his career prospects.
Peter Ludlow, a philosophy professor at the Evanston university, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court.
Ludlow alleges the student's claims that he got her drunk and attempted to sexually assault her are "provably false."
The allegations stem from a night in February 2012 when the student accompanied Ludlow to an interactive art show in the Loop.
Ludlow alleges that during the evening, the student "propositioned" him and he "refused her advances."
In the following days, the student tried to contact him numerous times via phone and social media, the suit stated.
On Feb. 15, 2012, the student "insisted on meeting Mr. Ludlow outside of a conference he was attending. He, again, told her that he did not want to date her," the suit stated.
The student -- who was 19 at the time -- told several other professors that Ludlow gave her alcohol and "kissed her and touched her 'over her clothes'," the suit stated.
The student went to university officials, and Ludlow was eventually found to have violated the university's sexual harassment policy by engaging in "unwelcome and inappropriate sexual advances toward" the student. However, Ludlow alleges the university "specifically declined to find that any sexual assault had occurred."
Chicago's NBC and ABC affiliate stations interviewed the student, and Ludlow's suit alleges she made several false statements to each network, including that he refused to take her home and that she awoke in his bed with her blouse slightly unbuttoned and his arms around her, the suit stated.
Ludlow alleges that the statements the student made in the lawsuit and those following her filing were "provably false."
Before allegations against him surfaced, Ludlow was set to join the faculty at Rutgers University. He alleges the accusations against him led to his offer being pulled.
The four-count suit alleges defamation, false light invasion of privacy, intentional interference with employment contract and intentional interference with prospective employment. It seeks more than $120,000 in damages.
It is the fifth lawsuit filed over the incident. After the student's initial lawsuit against the university, Ludlow also sued Northwestern for what he alleged was its "flawed" handling of the investigation. He also sued several media outlets over the reporting of the student's initial suit. The student later filed suit against Ludlow alleging violation of the state's Illinois Gender Violence Act.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)