Florida State settled a lawsuit on Monday with Erica Kinsman who accused former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston of rape in 2012.
Kinsman said that Winston raped her in his apartment after they met at a bar near the school. She publicly identified herself as Winston’s accuser in a documentary. The quarterback denied the allegations that Kinsman had made against him.
Last January, Kinsman filed a federal civil lawsuit against Florida State under the name “Jane Doe,” stating that the school violated her Title IX rights by not properly investigating the incident, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The state attorney’s office didn’t file criminal charges against Winston and Florida Supreme Court justice Major B. Harding said that there wasn’t enough evidence to indicate that Winston had violated Florida State’s student code of conduct at a December 2014 hearing.
In the settlement Florida State agreed to pay Kinsman $950,000, which includes attorney’s fees, and make a five-year commitment awareness, prevention and training programs, according to USA Today. The $950,000 settlement is the largest for a Title IX claim regarding indifference to a student's reported 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. “I am happy that FSU has committed to continue making changes in order to ensure a safer environment for all students. My hope is that the federal investigation of my complaint by the Office of Civil Rights will produce even more positive change, not just at FSU, but across the country.”
The settlement doesn’t affect the ongoing investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on how Florida State handled the case.
Winston won the Heisman Trophy while at FSU and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015, Sports Illustrated notes.
Kinsman sued Winston in April for sexual battery. He in countersuing her for defamation. That case is still pending.