CSU-Pueblo Agrees To Settle Lawsuit Over Sex Act
By Brian Maass
PUEBLO, Colo. (CBS4) - Newly filed federal court documents indicate Colorado State University-Pueblo has reached an agreement with a former student, Grant Neal, to pay him and settle a lawsuit Neal filed after he was essentially thrown out of the university after what he believed was an act of consensual sex with a female student.
"It weighs on me because I see my life being ripped away for no justifiable reason," Neal said in 2016 during an interview with CBS4.
Neal sued the university last year following its Title IX investigation into Neal's actions with a female football trainer. He believed the investigation was biased and inaccurate. It resulted in him being indefinitely suspended from the school. College administrators ruled Neal engaged in non-consensual sex with the woman. Neal was never charged criminally with any crime.
Neal maintained the liaison was consensual. According to the newly filed court documents, Neal and the university have come to both financial terms and non-economic terms that will result in the lawsuit being dropped. The documents do not indicate how much CSU-Pueblo will pay Neal nor the kind of non economic concessions that are being made.
Neal did not respond to CBS4 inquiries seeking more information on the tentative settlement.
Cora Zaletel, a CSU- Pueblo spokesperson, told CBS4, "The University is unable to comment at this time due to ongoing negotiations."
CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.