BYU students speak out about being investigated by honor code office after reporting rape

Several Brigham Young University students say they have been investigated by the school's honor code office after reporting their sexual assaults, and they are afraid this will keep other victims from coming forward.

Madi Barney, 20, says she was raped in her apartment by a man she met at the gym (a suspect has since been arrested and is awaiting trial). Barney says she has been told by campus officials that until her honor code investigation is completed, she cannot register for any classes after this semester. She has filed a Title IX sex discrimination complaint against the university with the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights, and started an online petition to give students who report sexual assault immunity from any honor code violations. The Utah County prosecutor assigned to her case told The Associated Press the criminal investigation is being hindered by BYU's quest to determine if she broke the honor code.

The university is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in 1949, students created the honor code. Every student must agree to it, and the rules include abstaining from premarital sex and involvement with pornography, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and gambling. Student Madeline MacDonald says when she was 18, she met a man on a dating website, and he sexually assaulted her (two years later, no arrests have been made). She said after she reported the crime to the Title IX office, the honor code office received a copy of her report, and even though she did not violate the code, she was made to feel guilty until the office said the investigation was complete. "For those two weeks, I wasn't sure if they were going to kick me out or what they were going to do," she said.

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BYU President Kevin Worthen said Wednesday in a video message he hopes the school has a "system that people feel they can trust" and "one that creates an environment in which we minimize the number of sexual assaults on campus." The university would not tell AP how many students who reported sexual assaults were investigated by the honor code office or if any were punished.