The woman who has accused former running back Derius Guice of raping her while she was an LSU student told state lawmakers on Wednesday her story on how the school failed to follow up on her claim. Former LSU tennis player Abby Owens said her Dad told tennis coach Julia Sell what happened, but Owens said Sell called her a liar.
“I will never forget how I felt, because everything that I thought would happen if I were to tell someone was happening, I wasn’t going to be believed,” said Owens.
Owens says she felt unvalued and unprotected and left LSU. She also says she battled drugs and alcohol and depression after the assault. Owens says she has learned that Coach Sell reported the accusation to senior Associate A-D Miriam Seger, but the case was never fully investigated.
“I think it’s just another example of the LSU system failing us, and it makes me mad about all of the other victims that came after,” said Owens.
Guice’s football career ended last year when he was arrested on domestic violence charges in Virginia. He has denied doing anything wrong while at LSU.
Samantha Brennan also testified before legislators and told her story of Guice allegedly taking a nude photo of her and distributing it to other members of the football team. She was asked by LSU officials if she wanted to report it officially or unofficially, which she felt was a lot of pressure on a 19-year-old.
“They gave me Derrius Guice’s life in my hands and I could not risk knowing that I possibly could ruin someone’s life,” said Brennan.
Brennan says she left LSU after Guice became a more prominent member of the football team.
“And I could not sit and listen to 100,000 screaming fans cheer him on Saturday nights and I dropped out and moved to Hawaii and I put Louisiana and everyone here behind me,” said Brennan.
Two LSU athletic officials have been suspended for mishandling sexual assault cases, but several lawmakers believe harsher punishments should be handed out.
Comments