Liberty University, an evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, agreed to pay a record $14 million fine for violating federal campus safety laws, the Education Department announced Tuesday, accusing the school of creating a “culture of silence” that hindered Reporting of crimes and multiple mishandling of sexual assaults.
In a 108-page report, the department found particular problems with the university’s handling of sexual misconduct, including that it punished several sexual assault victims for violating the student honor code that prohibited premarital sex, but But the attackers were not punished. As a result, sexual assaults often go unreported, the department said.
The report also said Liberty discouraged staff from sending emergency notifications and failed to notify students of hazardous incidents such as bomb threats and gas leaks on campus. It also accuses the university of publicly promoting itself as one of the safest universities in the country while keeping little data on campus crime and providing statistics that cannot be supported by official records.
The action is the latest blow to the standing of the Free Church, which was founded by conservative pastor and political activist Jerry Falwell Sr. and has grown into one of the most prominent evangelical institutions in the United States. , with a vast campus and an endowment of over $2 billion. Mr. Falwell’s son, Jerry Falwell Jr., resigned as president in 2020 amid a sex scandal and was sued by the university for $40 million the following year for various breaches of contract.
Tuesday’s penalty, which dwarfs every previous fine the department has levied for such violations, is part of a settlement with the university after a department review found “serious and persistent violations” of the Clery Act. . The law requires schools participating in federal financial aid programs to report campus crime data and support victims of sexual assault.
In addition to the fine, the university agreed to spend $2 million over two years to maintain a compliance committee and improve campus safety. The department said it would monitor the university until April 2026.
“The $14 million in fines and other remedies imposed in the settlement reflect the seriousness and long-term nature of Liberty’s violations, which compromised campus safety for students, faculty and staff,” the department said in a statement.
In a statement posted online, the university acknowledged the many violations cited by the Department of Education during the seven-year period of its review but said the school was singled out and subject to greater scrutiny than other institutions.
“While the university maintains that we have repeatedly suffered selective and unfair treatment from the sector, the university also acknowledges that there have been many shortcomings in the past,” the statement said. “We acknowledge and regret these past failures and take them seriously. Necessary improvements.”
The department’s review began in 2022 on the heels of a lawsuit in which a total of 22 women joined the lawsuit against Liberty University. Some women say they have been raped or subjected to sexual violence due to negligent policies and a culture that discourages reporting sexual misconduct.
The Department of Education is in the final stages of unveiling new rules on sexual misconduct that would redefine the provisions of Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded schools.
The changes are expected to provide stronger protections for victims of sexual assault on college campuses, reversing rules put in place by the Trump administration that gave students accused of sexual misconduct more respect in order to protect themselves.
On Tuesday, the department imposed fines that go well beyond previous Clery Act penalties imposed in high-profile cases of widespread sexual assault of students by university faculty.
The fine exceeds the then-record $4.5 million fine imposed on Michigan State University in 2019 for the sexual abuse of Lawrence G. Nassar. Mr. Nassar was convicted of molesting hundreds of girls and women while working as a longtime sports doctor for student-athletes at a Michigan State University clinic.
It also far exceeds the $2.4 million levied against Penn State after the university was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys.