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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A third University of Oklahoma student has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against a former university administrator.
The 21-year-old student claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that former OU Vice President Jim “Tripp" Hall III performed a sex act on him last year without his consent. The student claims Hall befriended him in 2017 when he was a sophomore and Hall was the vice president of university development.
“Through the guise of mentorship and friendship, defendant Hall maliciously manipulated plaintiff into believing the relationship was appropriate,” the lawsuit states.
Hall's attorney, Clark Brewster, said in a statement that he looks forward to defending his client's “good name and pursuing those who file specious lawsuits.”
The student is the third man to claim Hall acted inappropriately with them while they were students at OU. A former server at a university restaurant, Levi Hilliard, claims that Hall groped and kissed him on several occasions in 2017 and 2018, and another former student, Jess Eddy, claims Hall touched him inappropriately during a trip to Houston in 2010. Eddy also has accused former OU President David Boren of sexual misconduct.
The Associated Press typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but both Hilliard and Eddy spoke publicly about their allegations and agreed to the use of their names.
Hall was among dozens of university employees who were fired by Boren's successor, James Gallogly, as part of a cost-cutting move on his first day on the job in 2018.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has confirmed it is investigating allegations against both Hall and Boren. Both men have denied wrongdoing, and no charges have been filed against either man.
Both Hilliard and the 21-year-old student are represented by attorney Rand Eddy, who is Jess Eddy's father.
In response to a lawsuit Hilliard filed last year, Hall denies all of Hilliard's accusations and argues his claims are barred by the statute of limitations. A Cleveland County judge in that case has scheduled a Jan. 30 hearing on a motion by the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma to dismiss the claims against it.
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