Originally Posted by
GogglesPisano
If she were raped, why isn’t she pressing charges? It is a crime, is it not? Did the police decline? Did the prosecutors?
"Pressing" charges is commonly misunderstood. There are very few jurisdiction in the US where a civilian can initiate criminal charges, and for very good reasons. In most places it's up to the DA, and they typically don't prosecute losing cases (which this one might be due to lack of evidence). Usually all you can do is ask the DA to press charges, and they decide.
Originally Posted by
GogglesPisano
The same thing seems to happen on college campuses. The college shouldn’t even be involved. It’s a crime. (That said, I think we all have an idea why colleges choose to steer these events into their jurisdiction.)
Many colleges employ their own police, so that puts them right in the middle of it. Even the ones with political agendas are caught between protecting their students and respecting the rights of an accused. But fundamentally... the standard of evidence is high in criminal cases, but lower in civil cases. Expelling an accused student would fall under civil realm, with a reasonably lower standard.