Rape allegations brought against former associate dean

Cayla Bush, Stephanie Espaillat and Erica Santiago / FIUSM Staff

According to a federal lawsuit, a former senior associate dean of architecture at the College of Architecture and the Arts allegedly sexually assaulted an unnamed former student.

Adam Drisin, who left the University in September of 2015, was served with a lawsuit for sexual battery. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Southern District of Florida.

The plaintiff, recognized as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, is no longer a student at the University, Omar Malone said to Student Media.

According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Student Media, in the December of 2014, Drisin visited a group of students as they neared the end of their study abroad trip in Genoa, Italy to “check on the status and progress of the students.”

On or about the night of Dec. 12, 2014, the students of the program and about eight University faculty members including Drisin were celebrating the end of the program. Around 2 a.m. December 14, the student and two of her classmates decided to return to their apartment.

“However, Dean Drisin claimed that he did not know how to get back to his apartment from the bar and asked the three students to show him how to get home,” the lawsuit reads. “Once the female students and Dean Drisin arrived at his building, one or more of the students needed to use the bathroom and all four of them went upstairs to Dean Drisin’s apartment. Once in Dean Drisin’s apartment, he offered all three students more alcoholic beverages in the form of Bailey’s Liqueur and they accepted.”

The student and Drisin were having a professional conversation, the lawsuit claims, with other students on or around his bed. The student was sitting on the floor fully clothed. She later became drowsy, and fell asleep.

“The next thing JANE DOE recalls is being awoken by Student 1 and 2 totally naked the next morning, at approximately 10:00a.m., in the bed of Dean Drisin,” the lawsuit reads. “JANE DOE, who was visibly embarrassed, totally unaware of what had happened to her and why she was naked, went into the bathroom and when she exited, Student 1 and 2 were gone and Dean Drisin was sitting on the bed watching television.”

According to the lawsuit, one of the classmates who also spent the night told the alleged victim that she was seen “f——g Adam Drisin.”

The lawsuit, which was filed April 28, seeks a trial by jury on a count of sexual battery and a count of negligent infliction of emotional distress. It also alleges that a report was filed at the University by an unidentified professor.

Malone, the student’s lawyer, told Student Media, that it is a possibility other students will file their own lawsuit or join the one he has filed. He also said that at this time it is unclear if criminal charges will be brought up against Drisin.

“The health and safety of our students is of utmost importance. However, FIU cannot comment on this matter because there are pending proceedings,” Media Relations told Student Media in a statement.

Requests for contact from Drisin and FIUPD have not yet been returned.

Student Media will update this story as more details become available.