Title IX

Fayetteville attorney Brian Hogue will no longer be the decision maker in the ongoing months-long Title IX investigation into alleged sexual assaults by members of the Huntsville School District’s boys basketball team after Hogue received a text message in which someone sought to influence his decision.

After nearly five hours of testimony and attorney arguments, Fourth Judicial Circuit Court Doug Martin delayed a decision on whether the Huntsville School District violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act by denying a reporter access to an appeals hearing and refusing to tender documents to Witter resident Ben Rightsell.

This second story in a series looks at the Huntsville School Board’s handling of sexual assault allegations. Last month, The Record focused on the victim’s story as a first in the series.

In February, the Huntsville School District began the first of two Title IX investigations: one on behalf of the 2020-21 junior high basketball team and another after individual players filed complaints for actions during the 2019-20 season. The investigation into the 2020-21 season ended in May. The 2019-2020 investigation remains ongoing.

A parent sued the Huntsville School District and board members in Madison County Circuit Court today for violating the state’s open-meetings law by not notifying the media of a May 3 expulsion hearing for two Huntsville students involved in a Title IX sexual assault/sexual harassment investigation.

Many parents are anxious for students to return to classes in the Huntsville School District in three weeks as punishment remains lacking for students involved in sexual assault allegations. 

Criminal investigations remain ongoing into sexual assault allegations involving the Huntsville boys basketball program.