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HOUSTON - Houston Christian University, formerly Houston Baptist, is faced with a court case after a case was filed against the university and its former track coach for his alleged sexual misconduct.
An attorney with Buzbee Law Firm stated this is the first case filed against HCU in regard to this incident. It lists the Defendants in the case as HCU and Sesar Figueroa, Associate Head Track Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.
In the opening of the court document, it says, "HCU paid, promoted and harbored a sexual predator for years." The document further states, "Figueroa-- already married to a former HCU student--was particularly fond of young girls. He preyed upon them when they were most vulnerable. Some had difficult childhoods and looked to sports as a way up. He took advantage of that, and of them."
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Figueroa is said to have manipulated women using "textbook grooming" and would send sexual messages to the women. He would small gifts which led to larger ones and rewards if the person being targeted responded the way he wanted, the documents said. Those who rejected him were said to have left the program and led to them having a bad college experience.
More than one complaint has been filed against Figueroa yet HCU allowed him to continue coaching, according to the lawsuit. It states, "Instead of addressing a grave problem, HCU was only interested in protecting its public image and shielding itself from legal liability."
"Jane Doe" is the one who filed the lawsuit against Figueroa and says she was groomed by him for years for sex. According to Doe, after receiving small gifts and extra attention during freshmen year while she was young and vulnerable, Figueroa's conduct grew reckless and blatant.
Figueroa reportedly would offer her alcohol after track events and insisted on private meetings as a way to get close and intimate with Doe. Eventually, the two entered a sexual relationship and each time it was "only after he had plied her with alcohol, and had offered her promises of meet positions, or other favors." Figueroa would not allow Doe to participate in track meets unless she had sex with him.
The document stated Figueroa would aggressively demand the act and in one instance held her head down during oral sex until he finished after he said he did a "favor" for her and offered "further favors." In another instance, it says after he mentally and emotionally pressured Doe and gave her alcohol, they had intercourse and he forced her to take a Plan B to avoid pregnancy.
Male student-athletes even reported to HCU that Figueroa had preferential treatment to the female athletes and HCU still did nothing, the document said.
HCU eventually terminated Figueroa, the case stated, after another student-athlete filed a complaint against him.
The University released this statement on Saturday:
"The University has received the lawsuit filed December 30, 2022. We are troubled by any and all allegations of misconduct between University employees and students. We take all reports of sexual misconduct seriously and have dedicated significant time and resources to ensuring the safety of students on our campus and under our care. When the University was made aware of allegations of misconduct related to this lawsuit, we took appropriate action to respond to these allegations by contacting and cooperating with law enforcement and terminating an assistant track coach. In the situations identified in the lawsuit filed, the University acted lawfully and in good faith, and we expect a court to agree."