{"id":1433334,"date":"2022-04-12T13:44:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433334"},"modified":"2022-04-12T13:44:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T17:44:39","slug":"they-falsely-accused-him-of-sexual-assault-and-were-ordered-to-pay-5-3m-theyre-appealing-the-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/they-falsely-accused-him-of-sexual-assault-and-were-ordered-to-pay-5-3m-theyre-appealing-the-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"They Falsely Accused Him Of Sexual Assault And Were Ordered To Pay $5.3M. They\u2019re Appealing The Ruling."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthey-falsely-accused-him-of-sexual-assault-and-were-ordered-to-pay-5-3m-theyre-appealing-the-ruling%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1433334&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1182043746-1.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>The three defendants who were ordered to pay $5.3 million after falsely accusing a male Clemson University student of sexual assault are appealing the verdict.<\/p>\n<p>Late last month, a jury awarded Andrew Pampu $5.3 million in damages following his defamation lawsuit against Erin Wingo, her father David, and her ex-boyfriend Colin Gahagan. Greenville News <a href=\"https:\/\/amp.greenvilleonline.com\/amp\/7225351001\">reported<\/a> Tuesday that Erin was ordered to pay $700,000 in actual damages and $450,000 in punitive damages, while her father was ordered to pay $230,000 in damages and Gahagan was ordered to pay $700,000 in actual damages and $220,000 in punitive damages for defamation. Erin and Gahagan were also ordered to pay damages for civil conspiracy, with Erin ordered to pay $2 million in actual damages and Gahagan ordered to pay $1 million. The three have appealed the ruling.<\/p>\n<p>As The Daily Wire previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/he-was-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-a-woman-whose-boyfriend-later-admitted-lying-he-just-won-a-5-3m-settlement\">reported<\/a>, Erin Wingo pursued Pampu for more than a month before propositioning him at his birthday party on October 24, 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to arriving at the party, Wingo drank alcohol, later claiming she \u201cconsumed an implausible 9 shots,\u201d according to Pampu\u2019s lawsuit. She reportedly took that many shots but was able to walk to the off-campus fraternity house without issues. During this time, Wingo also apparently told multiple friends that she wanted to give Pampu a birthday kiss.<\/p>\n<p>Wingo found her then on-again, off-again boyfriend Gahagan at the party but he dismissed her, telling her to \u201cfind someone else\u201d and \u201cgo have a good time,\u201d according to the lawsuit. Wingo then sought out Pampu, even asking people at the party where he was. When Wingo finally found Pampu, she gave him a kiss on the lips in front of witnesses. Wingo also reportedly told Pampu that \u201cif you don\u2019t kiss me now, you won\u2019t have sex with me tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pampu\u2019s inhibitions were lowered due to the alcohol he consumed, and said in his lawsuit that he usually avoids public displays of affection, but gave in to Wingo\u2019s advances that night. The two eventually left the party to find a private place for their sexual encounter. As Pampu said in his lawsuit, Wingo walked unassisted and showed no signs of intoxication. She didn\u2019t stumble, or slur her words, and was able to hold an intelligible conversation with Pampu.<\/p>\n<p>The two found a secluded area near a shed and the encounter escalated, with Wingo removing her own clothes, according to Pampu\u2019s lawsuit. Pampu thought that Wingo was only going to provide him with oral sex so he asked why she was removing her pants, to which she reportedly responded \u201cso we can have sex.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pampu said in his lawsuit that he repeatedly asked for Wingo\u2019s consent even though she was initiating all the contact. His lawsuit stated that Wingo kept saying she knew what she was doing and consenting \u201cboth verbally and non-verbally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the way back to the party, Wingo reportedly complained to Pampu about past boyfriends, including Gahagan. Back at the house, when Wingo met up with her friends again, she started to cry and asked them why Gahagan didn\u2019t want to be with her. She also texted him. When Wingo returned to her dorm, she couldn\u2019t find her key and remembered she might have left it with Pampu (an important note because she would later say she didn\u2019t remember anything that night). At the time, the resident assistant (RA) provided a temporary key to let Wingo and her friends into her room. At that time, the RA did note any concerns regarding Wingo\u2019s level of intoxication, later telling campus investigators that Wingo didn\u2019t slur her words but was crying about Gahagan. At the time, Wingo didn\u2019t mention anything about being sexually assaulted. Even though the RA was sober at the time this occurred, Clemson would later give Wingo\u2019s \u201cdrunk\u201d claims more credibility.<\/p>\n<p>Before falling asleep, Wingo \u201cexchanged numerous hostile text messages\u201d with Gahagan, which she later deleted before eventually retrieving.<\/p>\n<p>The next morning, Wingo sent Pampu a text message at 10:45 a.m. pleading with him to not tell Gahagan about \u201cwhat happened.\u201d Her text made no mention of sexual assault and was focused on making sure Gahagan didn\u2019t find out Wingo had sex with Pampu. Later, after accusing Pampu of sexual assault, Wingo would tell campus investigators that she woke up at 11 a.m. to hide the fact that she sent the text.<\/p>\n<p>When Wingo accused Pampu of sexual assault, she left out the fact that she texted Pampu the morning after their encounter to ask him not to tell Gahagan and to see if he had her key. Instead, she told investigators that she didn\u2019t remember anything that night and thus could not have consented. Pampu showed the text messages to campus investigators, who ignored them.<\/p>\n<p>When Gahagan found out Wingo had slept with Pampu, he told her that if she didn\u2019t remember the night, that meant it was rape. The two then launched a campaign to get Pampu punished, which they achieved when Pampu was suspended by Clemson.<\/p>\n<p>Months after Pampu was suspended, in January 2017, Gahagan sent him a text message admitting that he had helped Wingo make a false allegation against him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re innocent,\u201d Gahagan wrote. \u201cI lied in that hearing. Erin wanted to have sex that night. Get your brothers away from me and never touch your life again and I\u2019ll come through with the truth that she lied. I deleted the texts from that night prove she was f****** crazy. You\u2019re innocent. Just pull your f****** boys off me and never touch me again. It\u2019s sad that you were like a brother to me and this happened[.] You\u2019re innocent. Send this to your lawyer. Just don\u2019t call me into the hearing and leave me alone. You\u2019re welcome. That\u2019s all I ask. You\u2019re innocent bud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On March 25, 2022, more than six years after Wingo\u2019s false allegations, a unanimous jury verdict resulted in a $5.3 million award for Pampu. A week-long trial regarding Pampu\u2019s defamation and civil conspiracy claims against Wingo, Gahagan, and her father included 10 witnesses that testified that Wingo was not too drunk to consent on the night of the encounter, along with evidence showing exactly how the defendants conspired to falsely accuse Pampu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe jury verdict represents more than an exoneration for my client who has endured reputational harm, educational barriers, and the deprivation of hard-earned career opportunities due to defendants\u2019 defamatory statements,\u201d Pampu\u2019s attorney,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbny.com\/Kimberly-Lau\">Kimberly Lau<\/a>, said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. \u201cThe jury sent a message to others that our society does not condone spreading harmful lies about someone else to ruin someone\u2019s reputation and deprive him of future opportunities. Not only does this kind of behavior cause irreparable damage to the wrongfully accused, it represents a setback for true rape victims to come forward and be believed in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pampu also provided a statement:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>When I received the verdict, I was overwhelmed with emotion and incredibly relieved. For seven long years, I carried a burden of accountability that was not mine to bear. Consequently, my family battled through the process with me every step of the way. By the Grace of God and with the support of my loving family and counsel, I was somehow able to persevere throughout the adversity and fight for the truth. I feel incredibly thankful for all members of the jury in Pickens, South Carolina who chose to end this nightmare for me. I hope that the favorable verdict gives hope to many other young men who are in a position similar to mine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Prior to this verdict, Lau finalized a settlement for Pampu in 2019 with Clemson University over the school\u2019s alleged Title IX and due process violations involved in their investigation into Wingo\u2019s allegations. The details of that settlement were not made public, but Pampu received a monetary sum and had the disciplinary notation removed from his official transcript.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies for breaking news, investigative reporting, sports, podcasts, in-depth analysis, books, and entertainment for a reason: because we believe in what we do. We believe in our country, in the value of truth and the freedom to speak it, and in the right to challenge tyranny wherever we see it. Believe the same?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">Become a member now and join our mission.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The three defendants who were ordered to pay $5.3 million after falsely accusing a male Clemson University student of sexual assault are appealing the verdict.Late last month, a jury awarded<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1433334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1433334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1433334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1433334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1433334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1433334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}