Former Holy Cross professor sues school over firing in sexual misconduct investigation

Photo | Grant Welker College of the Holy Cross campus in Worcester

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Christopher Dustin, a former philosophy professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, filed a 246-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, seeking to reverse his firing and provide unspecified damages for allegedly unfair termination, and names the school, the school’s trustees, and former College President Rev. Philip Boroughs as defendants.

The lawsuit alleges Dustin, who taught at the school beginning in 1991, was subjected to a botched investigation and fired over decades’ old sexual misconduct allegations in an attempt for the institution to save face in the midst of ongoing campus turmoil related to how the school had historically handled sexual misconduct and harassment complaints.

The lawsuit accuses the school of violation of Title IX, breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and promissory estoppel, or violating a promise that is enforceable by law.

Holy Cross declined to comment Friday morning on the specific allegations in the lawsuit.

"As a general practice, the College does not comment on ongoing litigation. We will respond to the complaint in the appropriate legal setting," college spokesman John Hill said in an email. "Holy Cross takes all complaints seriously, and when appropriate we conduct a thorough and impartial investigation, in accordance with our policies and applicable law."

Dustin was ultimately fired, via email, on Jan. 26, 2020. At the time, he was told he was fired for failing to report a romantic and/or sexual relationship, as well as for violating the school’s Duty of Honesty. The first charge was vacated upon appeal, according to the court documents, because Dustin was allegedly never told that he was under investigation for that offense and therefore unable to defend himself.

According to court documents, Dustin was notified twice in 2019 he was under investigation. The first time was March 1, 2019, after two male students reportedly raised concerns about how Dustin allegedly behaved toward several female students between 1994 and 1998. Secondly, on June 19, 2019, Dustin was reportedly notified of an investigation related to alleged conduct during the 1995-1996 academic year, including possible sexual harassment.

The March notice indicated the alleged victims had not complained to the school and declined to participate in the investigation. The June notice said one student who graduated in the mid-90s, who had previously declined to take part in the investigation, now decided to participate. Dustin’s team argued in court documents the person who declined to participate initially was the same person who agreed to participate by the time of the second notice.

“She only became involved in this investigation after being contacted by the Investigator for the College and prompted to do so,” Dustin’s legal team wrote.

This case was first reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

The complaint documents attack the school’s firing of Dustin from an array of angles. Among them are accusing the school of failing to provide any definitions or policies for handling harassment allegations as part of his tenure contract, as well as for purportedly beginning an investigation into the second incident more than four months before Dustin was notified the school was looking into the allegations.

But perhaps above all else, the complaint argued while tenured professors at Holy Cross may be fired for harassment, investigations into the allegations against Dustin found he was not guilty of harassment. For this, the lawsuit argues, Holy Cross did not have either cause or a lawful basis for terminating his employment.

“Not only did Holy Cross officials violate the [tenure] contract - they completely ignored it,” lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

Separately, the lawsuit took issue with how investigations into Dustin were carried out, including the school’s reported turnover in its Title IX office, which led to the school’s chief risk and compliance officer overseeing the investigations. Dustin’s lawyers argued in the lawsuit this was in violation of federal Title IX guidelines, which advised schools to put in place Title IX directors who can fulfill their duties without worrying about institutional liability issues.

“Not only did Holy Cross ignore this conflict concern, it installed its chief risk and compliance officer to run the Title IX office over the course of the Dustin Investigation in a perspicuous demonstration of the college’s one priority: to manage burgeoning campus turmoil,” his lawyers wrote.

Among other issues highlighted in the lawsuit, Dustin’s lawyers argued allegations and investigations into his conduct were made public within the college, effectively vilifying him and turning his coworkers against him, violating the school’s policy of disciplinary outcomes remaining confidential unless relevant to the safety of the community.

With regard to relief, the lawsuit requests a judgment the school rescind its “termination of Professor Dustin and restore the honors and awards bestowed upon him,” as well as expunge all of his disciplinary records. The lawsuit requests the defendants be barred from referencing the proceedings detailed in the lawsuits to third parties and seeks undetermined damages.