Florida State to pay Jameis Winston's accuser $950K in lawsuit settlement
Florida State will pay Erica Kinsman, Jameis Winston's accuser, $950,000 to settle a Title IX lawsuit.
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Florida State University has agreed to pay Jameis Winston's accuser $950,000 to settle a Title IX lawsuit filed due to the accuser believing the school handled her sexual assault allegations poorly in 2013.
According to USA Today, the $950,000 lump sum payment to Erica Kinsman, which includes attorneys' fees, is the "largest settlement for Title IX claims regarding indifference to a student's sexual assault."
“I will always be disappointed that I had to leave the school I dreamed of attending since I was little,” Kinsman said in a statement, via USA Today. “I am happy that FSU has committed to continue making changes in order to ensure a safer environment for all students.”
Florida State investigated the allegations after the state attorney decided not to charge Winston in the case to see whether Winston violated the school's code of conduct. Possible punishments would have ranged from suspension to expulsion. In Dec. 2014, just before the Seminoles faced Oregon in the semifinals of the first College Football Playoff, the school announced that Winston had not violated the school's code of conduct.
The settlement in this Title IX lawsuit, which also includes a promise from FSU to increase its efforts to hold sexual assault prevention programs over a period of five years, does not impact the ongoing Title IX investigation into Florida State by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. That investigation was opened in April 2014 after a complaint by Kinsman.
