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According to the statement of defence, the investigator’s findings were based on interviews with 10 of the players who agreed to meet with him, Paiement and other team staff, and a friend of the alleged victim who ultimately was the one who notified the university and police. The investigator did not interview the alleged victim.

The university took the advice of two outside experts who recommended the team be suspended for the 2014-15 season given the gravity of the alleged sexual misconduct and excessive drinking, the ongoing criminal investigation, and the fact that fewer than half the team members would agree to interviews with the university’s investigator, according to the statement of defence. The experts also recommended that the coach be fired, which he was.

The university alleges that the decision to suspend the team was within its discretion and that Creppin’s lawsuit is an abuse of process.

“The investigator’s factual findings raised serious concerns about the conduct of many team members who apparently participated in, encouraged or witnessed allegedly non-consensual sexual activity, who drank to excess, who violated rules for student athletes and the team, and who were comfortable in a culture where a possible sexual assault was not reported,” reads the statement of defence.

In a reply filed with the court, Creppin’s lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, said the school’s statement of defence “effectively clears” his client and 10 other members of the team who either weren’t on the trip or had gone to the hospital. However, it continues damaging the reputation of other unnamed team members with its “murky and salacious allegations unsupported by particulars.”

“The defendant’s statement of defence compounds its earlier negligence and causes further damage to the reputations of the plaintiff and the proposed class by once again group punishing and casting a dark shadow over the reputations of all members of the team, unfairly, without justification, and to the detriment of the innocent parties involved,” says Creppin’s reply.

Faucher and Donovan have yet to be tried on the criminal charges. They are next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 2.