A former University of Colorado student w hose sexual assault case was dismissed has sued the school, claiming the school did not conduct a fair investigation before expelling him in 2016.

Giroloma Messeri filed a suit against the university, Chancellor Phil DiStefano, Title IX Coordinator Valerie Simons, Deputy Title IX Coordinator Regina Tirella, and two Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance investigators and three standing review committee members.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, claims the defendants violated Messeri’s 14th Amendment due process rights, Title IX rights, and also accuses the defendants of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Messeri was charged with sexual assault for an alleged 2016 incident, but the Boulder District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case in August, saying it did not believe it could get a guilty verdict at trial.

In the lawsuit, attorneys wrote Messeri was “one of a number of innocent male CU Boulder students caught up in a scheme by CU Boulder and local law enforcement to criminally prosecute young men accused of sexual misconduct — despite a lack of evidence to support the allegations — while exacting harsh disciplinary measures against them, including expulsion.”

Messeri was expelled in November 2016, and he was arrested and charged in December 2017.

“The university used this flimsy information to persuade law enforcement to pursue an investigation while moving forward to suspend Mr. Messeri, all without providing a hearing and the right for him to cross-examine the complainant,” Messeri’s attorney Jason Savela said in a statement.

In addition to Savela, Messeri is being represented by Andrew Miltenberg, who has already filed a similar lawsuit against CU this year on behalf of another former male student accused of sex assault.

“CU administrators manipulated the system, enticing, perhaps even working on behalf of law enforcement, using less than credible information and denying Girolamo his most basic due process rights,” Miltenberg said in a statement. “There’s no other way to put this other than saying that there is an unholy alliance between the school and law enforcement and this is now part of a troubling trend in Boulder.”

University of Colorado spokesman Ryan Huff also released a statement on the matter.

“We strongly disagree with the representations made by Mr. Messeri and his attorney,” Huff said in the statement. “Mr. Messeri was treated equitably. The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, which investigates and determines the outcomes of these cases, followed the appropriate procedures and conducted an unbiased investigation. Our Title IX process is fair, impartial, unbiased and respects the due process rights of all students regardless of gender.”

Messeri was initially accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met in September 2016.

According to the lawsuit, video surveillance and witness statements of Messeri and the woman’s behavior corroborate Messeri’s assertion that the sexual activity was consensual.

The lawsuit is seeking damages for “damages to reputation, physical well-being, emotional and psychological damages, past and future economic losses, loss of educational opportunities, and loss of future career prospects.”

In addition to damages, Messeri is asking that his disciplinary record be cleared, the woman’s complaint be destroyed, and the restraining order preventing him from visiting the CU dorms be lifted.

Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars