text: TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The parents of a Texas woman who said she was raped while attending the University of Alabama have sued the alleged attacker, school officials and others, claiming the episode led to her suicide last year. 
   
   A federal wrongful death lawsuit filed over the weekend by Michael and Cynthia Rondini of Austin, Texas, claims the alleged assault and officials' subsequent mishandling of the allegations prompted Megan Rondini to kill herself. 
   
   The lawsuit says Rondini, then a 20-year-old junior who planned to go to medical school, met a man at a popular Tuscaloosa bar in July 2015. She was later sexually assaulted at his home, possibly after being drugged, the suit contends. 
   
   Police investigating the sexual assault were sympathetic toward the man and wrongly focused on Rondini's actions, which including taking a handgun and $3 for cab fare from his home, the lawsuit claims. 
   
   "Megan ultimately was treated as a crime suspect and her status as a victim of a sex crime was completely disregarded," the suit said. The young woman withdrew from Alabama and returned home to Texas, where her mental condition deteriorated, according to the complaint. 
   
   The man wasn't charged, and the lawsuit claims investigators and university officials mishandled her allegations. The suit contends Rondini afterward suffered depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, which her parents say led to her suicide. 
   
   The lawsuit names the man, but The Associated Press is not using his name since he was not charged with a crime. It also names Beth Howard, Title IX coordinator at Alabama; Cara Blake of the school's Women and Gender Resource Center; Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy; and two county officers, investigator Adam Jones and deputy Joshua Hastings. 
   
   In a statement, the university declined comment on specifics of the lawsuit but said school officials were "deeply saddened" by Rondini's death and are trying to raise community awareness and support victims of sexual assault. 
   
   A lawyer for the man named in the lawsuit denied that he had sexually assaulted her. 
   
   "The allegations against my client as set forth in this baseless lawsuit are simply false," the statement said. 
   
   Abernathy said the case was referred to a grand jury, which declined to issue an indictment. Letting grand jurors consider evidence rather than filing immediate charges is standard practice in cases with "very conflicting statements," Abernathy said. 
   
   The lawsuit was assigned to a federal magistrate judge Monday, but no hearing date was set. 
   
   The complaint doesn't seek a specific amount of money. It asks for a court order requiring the sheriff's office to provide better training to officers and "to provide safe conditions to citizens around criminal investigations." ||||| A lawsuit accuses law enforcement and university officials of failing to give Megan Rondini, the subject of a BuzzFeed News story, the help she needed after she reported being assaulted by a wealthy man in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 
   
   The parents of a young woman who killed herself after alleging she’d been raped by a wealthy Alabama man have sued the accused attacker, law enforcement officers, and a university Title IX official, alleging their “faulty practices” and “mishandling” of the case drove their daughter to hang herself. The story of Megan Rondini, who was a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa when the alleged rape occurred, was detailed in a recent BuzzFeed News story. The 25-page wrongful death suit filed Sunday by Rondini’s parents, Michael and Cynthia Rondini, charges that Tuscaloosa Sheriff's Department deputies were intentionally dismissive when Rondini reported in July 2015 that she was raped by T.J. Bunn, Jr., one of six defendants named in the suit. It accuses investigator Adam Jones and deputy Joshua Hastings of the Tuscaloosa Sheriff’s Department of conducting sloppy investigations. Also named in the suit is Tuscaloosa Sheriff Ronald Abernathy, for allegedly failing to properly train his department in how to handle sexual assault reports. In addition, the Rondinis are suing Beth Howard, the University of Alabama’s Title IX coordinator, who also held that position when their daughter reported she had been raped; and Cara Blakes, who was a graduate student working as a therapist at the school’s Women and Gender Resource Center. All of the defendants “negligently, recklessly, wantonly, and/or wrongfully acted or failed to act in response to Megan’s reported sexual assault,” the lawsuit alleges. As a result, it says, Megan Rondini suffered “extreme depression, anxiety, PTSD, fear, panic attacks, decline of cognitive functions and general well-being, weight loss, and feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, all of which directly led to Megan’s loss of life.” 
   
   W. Ivey Gilmore, Jr., an attorney for Bunn, said in a statement Monday that the accusations against his client in the suit are false. "It is, perhaps, natural to want to find someone to blame when a young woman takes her life," Gilmore said. "But accusing law enforcement and those who counseled this young woman for her actions is misguided. Unfortunately, bringing this matter before the courts in this civil action will only prolong grief without changing the reality." No one else named in the suit immediately responded to a request for comment. The suit, filed by Birmingham-based attorney Leroy Maxwell Jr., seeks an unspecified amount of damages. Megan Rondini’s death came to light in the BuzzFeed News report, which used law enforcement interrogation videos, text messages, and other documentation to show her growing frustration after she told Tuscaloosa law enforcement that she’d been raped after a night out with friends. Rondini accused T.J. Bunn Jr. in the assault, but Bunn said they had consensual sex. Tuscaloosa officers questioned why Rondini didn't kick or hit Bunn and concluded the incident did not meet Alabama’s legal requirements for rape. They also questioned Rondini about crimes she had allegedly committed, including taking money and a gun from Bunn’s car as she fled his home after the alleged assault. Rondini ultimately dropped the case, left the University of Alabama, and moved back to her native Texas, where she hanged herself in February 2016. Bunn was never charged with a crime. The article led to outrage in Congress. Last Wednesday, Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas, described Rondini's case and said "she got the death penalty” after reporting she’d been sexually assaulted. Poe criticized Tuscaloosa investigators, saying they treated Rondini “with disdain and disbelief." "It’s easy to second guess what someone should or should not have done after emotional trauma of sexual assault, but Megan believes she did everything a rape victim is supposed to do," Poe said on the House floor. 
   
   The lawsuit says Tuscaloosa officers failed to test Rondini's rape kit, failed to interview witnesses, and failed to record all of the interviews they did conduct. Their behavior “was intentional and due to Megan Rondini’s female gender,” the suit alleges. 
   
   “Megan ultimately was treated as a crime suspect and her status as a victim of a sex crime was completely disregarded,” the lawsuit alleges. "The only conclusive evidence gathered from the investigation was that Megan tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease that she contracted from non-consensual sex with Defendant Bunn," the suit states. Bunn's family is well-known in the Tuscaloosa area. His father and uncle own S.T. Bunn Construction, which took down its website following the BuzzFeed News story as people online directed outraged readers to their contact page. In a statement released shortly after the story appeared, Bunn's family called the article "an intentional distortion of facts in a tragic case," and said Rondini's family had previously sought to sue "various parties who are the targets of these unfounded accusations." 
   
   "It is tragic that this young woman took her own life, but defaming an entire city, its leaders, its institutions and a prominent family brings no honor to this tragedy and no justice for anyone," the Bunn family said in its statement. The University of Alabama has said the BuzzFeed News story "ignored some significant facts," including that it gave Rondini information about services available to her on campus. It also noted that it referred Rondini to another counselor because the first one she met with after the alleged assault knew the Bunn family and recused herself from the case. However, the Rondini family claims in the lawsuit that the second counselor Rondini was referred to, Cara Blakes, "inexplicably denied Megan counseling services" until she began taking anti-anxiety medication. The lawsuit alleges this was a violation of Rondini's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit also says that Beth Howard, the University of Alabama's Title IX coordinator, ignored calls and messages from Rondini's family requesting help for their daughter. The suit was filed in US District Court in Alabama. Anna Voremberg, a board member of End Rape on Campus, an advocacy group that has assisted Rondini's parents, accused investigators of appearing more sympathetic to Bunn in videotaped interviews than to Rondini, who was the one reporting a violent crime. "Why would someone come forward to report any violence at all? It was just like a good ol' boys club in there," Voremberg told BuzzFeed News. "Megan is just one example of many in which law enforcement officers truly fail survivors of sexual violence and their community." Katie J.M. Baker contributed reporting. 
   
   Tyler Kingkade is a national reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York City. Contact Tyler Kingkade at tyler.kingkade@buzzfeed.com. Got a confidential tip? Submit it here. 
   
   News moves fast. Keep up with the BuzzFeed News daily email! Sign up Great! You're almost there! Check your inbox and confirm your subscription now! ||||| The parents of Megan Rondini, the University of Alabama student who killed herself after alleging that she had been raped by a Tuscaloosa man, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit Sunday against her alleged rapist, two university employees, the Tuscaloosa County sheriff, a sheriff's deputy, and a sheriff's office investigator. 
   
   The lawsuit by Michael and Cynthia Rondini alleges that the school and law enforcement failed their daughter. It claims the sheriff's office inadequately pursued the investigation and did not take Megan's claims seriously, and the university did not give her adequate psychological treatment and support after the alleged rape. 
   
   Leroy Maxwell Jr., the Rondinis' attorney, said the lawsuit was filed with the hope that it would prevent cases similar to Megan's. 
   
   "There was a mediation with the Rondini family and the university, the details of which are confidential. The Rondini family is not in this for the money, they are only interested in shining a bright light on a tragic yet preventable situation," he said in a statement sent to AL.com. "The court will determine if this case rises to the level of punitive damages." 
   
   Meanwhile, the school, DCH Regional Medical Center, victim advocates, the Tuscaloosa District Attorney's office and law enforcement are establishing two sexual assault programs that care for sexual assault victims. 
   
   "While this long-term solution is being implemented, DCH is training its staff in the SANE [Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner] course curriculum," the groups said Friday in a joint press release. 
   
   Terry Bunn Jr., Rondini's alleged rapist, could not immediately be reached for comment. The lawsuit identifies him as being part of a family that is "well connected and powerful in the Tuscaloosa community, and were major financial supporters of UA." Bunn works at ST Bunn Construction Company, which is across the street from the Innisfree Pub, where Megan was allegedly drunk or drugged before being raped for 30 minutes in July 2015. 
   
   His lawyer, W. Ivey Gillmore, said in a statement to AL.com that the lawsuit is "baseless and "simply false." 
   
   "Law enforcement investigated this matter; the district attorney's office reviewed the evidence; the evidence was even presented to a grand jury that found there was no justification for charges against my client. It is, perhaps, natural to want to find someone to blame when a young woman takes her life," Gillmore said. "But accusing law enforcement and those who counseled this young woman for her actions is misguided. Unfortunately, bringing this matter before the courts in this civil action will only prolong grief without changing the reality." 
   
   The filing goes on to claim that authorities sided with Bunn's version of events and did not thoroughly follow-up on Megan's story, and that an investigating officer was more interested in finding out whether Megan committed any crimes on the night of the rape. 
   
   The university allegedly "deliberately and repeatedly denied services and mishandled accommodations with hostility toward" Megan, the suit goes on to say. The lawsuit claims Megan confided in a UA counselor who told her she could no longer give her therapy because she was a family friend of the Bunns, and that a second counselor would not see Megan unless she first took anxiety medication. 
   
   The lawsuit claimed UA did not accommodate Megan after the rape, alleging that she saw Bunn's car outside her apartment and saw her alleged rapist on the Tuscaloosa campus. 
   
   Prior to the lawsuit, the university had issued this statement: 
   
   "The University of Alabama has been deeply saddened by the death of Megan Rondini, and we continue to offer our sympathy to her friends and family. Information published by news outlets this week has unfortunately ignored some significant facts," UA said. "When Megan went to the hospital, a university advocate met her at the hospital to provide support and stayed with her throughout the examination process. Megan also received information from university representatives regarding services available to her on campus, including counseling through the university's Women & Gender Resource Center. When she sought counseling and her first therapist identified a potential conflict as defined by her professional obligations, Megan was immediately introduced to another therapist, who provided care and support. Additionally, the UA Title IX Office was in contact with Megan, including offering academic accommodations and helping to streamline her withdrawal when Megan elected to return to Texas." 
   
   Megan returned home to Austin, Texas, where the trauma from the rape and the response from law enforcement and the university caused her to kill herself, the lawsuit claims. 
   
   "The combined trauma due to Megan's treatment by the Tuscaloosa Sheriff's Department, the reporting process with UA, the additional anxiety of trying and failing to receive counseling as a result of her rape, and the influential position of her assailant in the community ultimately made Megan feel unsafe on campus and that she could no longer remain at UA," the lawsuit stated. 
   
   Megan hung herself on February 26, 2016. Two days before, she sent a text that read: "When all is said and done, I wonder what I could've accomplished if one man didn't completely rip everything away from me." 
   
   A copy of the lawsuit is posted below: 
   
   Rondini Lawsuit by hkoplowitz on Scribd 
   
   Updated at 6:30 p.m. to include a statement from Bunn's attorney.
target: – Former University of Alabama student Megan Rondini would still be alive if not for the "mishandling" of her alleged rape, her parents say. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed Sunday, Rondini's parents accuse the university, school officials, sheriff's deputies, and Rondini's alleged rapist of enabling her suicide in February 2016. Rondini had been a 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama in July 2015 when she alleged she was raped by local businessman TJ Bunn Jr. But authorities "wrongfully acted or failed to act in response," the lawsuit alleges, per Buzzfeed. It adds deputies—who found the case didn't meet Alabama's legal definition for rape—didn't test Rondini's rape kit or interview witnesses, an "intentional" behavior that was due to Rondini's gender. Rondini—who allegedly stole $3 and a gun from Bunn—was "treated as a crime suspect," not a victim, the suit continues, per the AP, also alleging a school counselor refused to see Rondini unless she took anxiety medication. Rondini later dropped out of school, moved back to Texas, and suffered "extreme depression, anxiety, PTSD, fear, panic attacks, decline of cognitive functions and general well-being … all of which directly led to Megan's loss of life," the suit states. Per AL.com, two days before her suicide, she sent a text reading, "I wonder what I could've accomplished if one man didn't completely rip everything away from me." Bunn, who claimed the sex was consensual, was never charged with a crime. His lawyer tells AL.com that the lawsuit is "baseless" and "simply false."