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Nearly a dozen LSU officials summoned to next legislative hearing on sexual assault

BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — The Legislature’s Senate Select Committee on Women and Children is calling on 10 people involved in LSU’s handling of abuse and sexual misconduct complaints.

That includes Verge Ausberry and Miriam Segar. The two high-ranking LSU Athletic Department employees were recently suspended for failing to report claims of sexual assault and violence against student-athletes. Ausberry already backed out, saying he will be out of town.

The committee is also calling on Vicki Crochet. She is the attorney who conducted the 2013 sexual harassment investigation into former football coach Les Miles. Miles allegedly had multiple inappropriate interactions with female students.

Attorney and former member of LSU Board of Supervisors, Scott Sternberg, says Crochet most likely won’t testify.

“If her client doesn’t release her from the attorney-client privilege, there’s all kinds of stuff that she can’t say or else she could lose her law license,” Sternberg said.

This will be the third hearing. Officials can come in person or submit a written statement. An LSU spokesman says it’s unclear who will be there in person. Sternberg says it’s in their best interest to testify.

“At the end of the day, we want to make sure that the people that go to our public colleges and our private colleges in Louisiana can feel like they’re going to be listened to,” Sternberg said.

The hearing is on April 8th. Senator Beth Mizell filed a bill on sexual misconduct reporting as a result of what’s going on at LSU. This makes the third bill that would require colleges and universities to fire people who fail to report sexual abuse or misconduct.

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