Lawsuit accuses Mt. San Antonio College of covering up rape, sexual assault on campus

WALNUT, Calif. (KABC) -- Two women have filed a lawsuit against Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut for allegedly covering up a rape and sexual assault on campus.

The lawsuit is being filed by the group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) on behalf of former student Aarefah Mosavi and former employee Angela Consolacion.

Mosavi described her alleged rape in a video posted on YouTube in April.

"He starts to grope by back, my hips and buttocks. I tried to pull away but he would not let me go," she described. "I was frozen and terrified."

In a statement released by BAMN regarding the lawsuit, the organization's attorney, Monica Smith, named Mosavi's alleged assailant as Chester Brown, a Mt. SAC employee, and Consolacion's alleged assailant as Esau Gatsi.

Smith said Brown's continued employment at the school "sends a message to the campus that rape and sexual assault is ok," and the lawsuit will help the "fight against rape and sexual assault."

"The truth about Chester Brown's rape of Aarefah and the administration cover up of rape and sexual assault will come out," Smith said in the statement.

The BAMN statement also quotes Mosavi demanding the firings of Mt. SAC President William Scroggins, Equal Employment Opportunity Programs Director Lorraine Jones, and Human Resources Vice President James Czaja.

Mosavi is expected to speak out about the allegations and the lawsuit during a press conference at the school at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Mt. SAC released the following statement:

Mt. San Antonio College takes all allegations of sexual assault very seriously, and is committed to maintaining a safe learning and working environment. The College is also committed to maintaining the privacy rights of our students and employees, which limits the amount of information we can share with the general public.

We recently became aware of a video by a former student employee who described an allegation of sexual assault on the Mt. San Antonio College campus. This incident was reported to the college in February 2014 and was thoroughly investigated in a timely manner. The evidence did not support the allegations nor did it show the accused represents a threat to the campus community.

This case was also referred to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which conducted a separate investigation. In addition to notifying the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the College referred the individual to the College's Student Health Services Center, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the California Community College Chancellor's Office.

Mt. San Antonio College appreciates the public's interest in sexual assault awareness and prevention. We accept our ongoing responsibility to create a safe learning and working environment. When an allegation arises, we take swift and immediate action and honor the rights of all involved parties.