Lawsuits: Kansas State ignores off-campus fraternity rapes

(AP) — Two female students allege that Kansas State University has refused to investigate their rapes and other sex assaults at off-campus fraternity houses, according to federal lawsuits filed Wednesday.

The civil rights lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas, contend that the university's practice endangers students and violates federal law by creating a hostile learning environment for victims.

[...] Kansas State is the subject of four open federal Title IX investigations for allegedly mishandling sex assault complaints, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

The Obama administration also has taken steps to push colleges to better tackle the issue, including releasing the names colleges and universities that were facing investigations for their handling of such cases under Title IX, a federal anti-discrimination law involving women.

Both women said they reported the sexual assaults to police and went to hospitals where rape kits were taken; prosecutors declined to file charges related to Weckhorst's allegations and a decision is pending on whether to file charges in Farmer's case, Simon said.