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Three members of Butler University’s women’s soccer team are suing the school after an athletic trainer allegedly “groomed, illicitly photographed, and sexually assaulted” them and several of their teammates.
The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, claim that the three athletes—two of whom are still at the university—were routinely abused by now-former trainer Michael Howell. Howell is listed as a co-defendant in the trio of lawsuits from the three women, who are identified as Jane Does.
All three suits allege similar predatory behavior from Howell: that he abused “his position of power and authority over Butler athletes” to sexually assault them under the guise of routine athletic massages.