BATON ROUGE - LSU's president acknowledged a lawsuit alleging the school did not do enough to address sexual assault claims against a former graduate student from France who ultimately fled the country.

President William Tate IV kept his response brief, citing the pending litigation, but tried to reassure students that administrators are "building a culture of transparency" in wake of a scathing review outlining LSU's past Title IX failures earlier this year.

Message from LSU President @WFTate4. pic.twitter.com/gmXtd0P4yw

— Office of the LSU President (@LSUpresident) October 8, 2021

The story posted by The Advocate this week included a firsthand account from one of the women, who reported being raped by Edouard d'Espalungue d'Arros during a religious retreat in Rapides Parish back in 2018. The lawsuit, which includes claims from six different women, described d'Espalungue as a “charming, handsome, and successful serial sexual predator.”

Though several accusers have come forward, d'Espalungue has only been charged in one of those assaults. That case has yet to be resolved, and a judge allowed d'Espalungue to return to France for the holidays late last year. He has not returned since. 

Read the full story from The Advocate here.