RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal appeals court has reversed the dismissal of a former N.C. State athlete’s lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine under the guise of treatment.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court’s dismissal of the April 2023 lawsuit from “John Doe 2” against the school citing improper touching by Robert Murphy Jr. That followed similar lawsuits filed in August 2022 and February 2023.
Tuesday’s decision sends the case back to district court.
That court’s 2023 dismissal of claims against N.C. State in all three lawsuits ruled the school didn’t receive “actual notice” of abuse. The first lawsuit alleged former men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley told a senior athletics official in February 2016 that he suspected Murphy was “engaging in contact … consistent with grooming behavior,” but that there was no follow-up action by the school.
The appeals court determined that was “objectively” an allegation qualifying as notification. However, it noted the lower court never determined whether the appropriate official was notified, sending that question back as well.
Former soccer player Benjamin Locke’s first lawsuit continued with Murphy as a named defendant. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly, which Locke has done.
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