Richard Liu Lawsuit
In 2018 an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School was sexually assaulted by a visitor to the program, the then-acting CEO of JD.com. Her assailant, Richard Liu, was visiting the University of Minnesota as a part of the global business program- a program that gained the university $10M by the time of the assault.
This student was directed to attend a dinner with the guest of the program. She was the only female student directed by her professor (and Associate Dean) to attend. She noted her discomfort with this situation and requested the attendance of a fellow female undergraduate student and was denied. They allowed an undergraduate male student to attend, though quickly separated him from the rest of the party. She was groped, fondled, and assaulted throughout the duration of the night.
This student was force-fed alcohol at the restaurant to the point of restaurant staff noticing her intoxication. After requesting to be taken home, she was taken to an additional after party with more alcohol. When she was finally returned home her perpetrator went into her apartment, uninvited, and remained there for the next 7 hours. The student informed her friend and boyfriend that she had been raped. He called the police and they arrived to her apartment to remove her assailant.
She was then taken to the hospital for medical examinations. Following this, she was summoned to and taken to the Carlson school to discuss the events of the night with staff and university officials, they had already been informed of the occurrence.
Her professor and associate dean who encouraged her attendance at this event soon after joined the defense team of her assailant. He aided in securing legal defense and worked to try and persuade his student from pressing charges.
Later, this same professor secretly recorded phone calls with the student. These recordings were then used to mischaracterize and defame his student. He worked to undermine the claims of his undergraduate student, in direct violation to federal law.
Additionally, the detective on the case broke his historic protocol and attempted to persuade the student to seek civil damages against her assailant instead of criminal. It is assumed this was because of the influence of the parties involved (UMN, Jd.com, etc.).
In sectin X of this filing, it states: "The Minnesota Police Department, Defendants' business colleagues, and the University of Minnesota coordinate efforts to take advantage of a young, unrepresented victim.".
It feels an awful lot like the Carlson school pimped out its student to foreign business titans for social and financial gains.
Sources:
Court Case Records: Case # 27-CV-19-5911
NYTimes article regarding the case
MN Daily Article regarding the case