School fails to expel admitted rapist

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BOSTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts university has admitted it decided not to expel a student who confessed to raping a friend on campus last fall, investigators say.

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting says officials at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst allowed the student to remain enrolled even though he admitted committing a felony, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.

The victim, who did not want to press criminal charges, said she was stunned to learn last month that the perpetrator had not been more severely punished.

"It never crossed my mind that he would blatantly get away with rape," the victim said.

The school's failure to order significant discipline is in line with information provided to the government indicating reports of sexual assaults on New England college campuses between 2003 and 2008 rarely led to serious sanctions.

Of the more than 240 alleged assaults reported by the schools, only four resulted in expulsions.