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Oregon Governor changes law in response to release of therapy records in rape case

Kate Brown

AP Photo

AP

Kate Brown, the Governor of the State of Oregon, signed legislation on Wednesday that will give her state one of the strongest confidentiality protections for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.

The new law came into being in large part due to the outcry stemming from a high-profile sexual assault allegation involving the Oregon men’s basketball team. Last spring, three players -- Brandon Austin, Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson -- were accused of raping a female Oregon student. Although no charges were brought against them, all three were kicked out of the school.

The accuser filed a lawsuit against the university and men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman, and in order to defend themselves against that lawsuit, the school was able to access the therapy records of the accuser.

“We can’t promise that it would never happen again,” Rosenblum told The Oregonian. “But if there were communications between victims’ advocates who were certified under our program, certainly those kinds of communications would not and should not under any circumstances be released.”