Northwestern Cheerleader’s Sex Trafficking Claims Can Proceed

A former cheerleader for Northwestern University who says her coach intentionally put her in situations where she was sexually harassed and assaulted can proceed with her sex trafficking and forced labor claims against the school, the coach, and several school officials, a federal judge said.

The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Thursday rejected the defendants’ argument that Hayden Richardson, the cheerleader, failed to state a civil claim for sex trafficking. Some of her state law claims, however, were dismissed but with the possibility of them being amended and refiled.

Richardson says Pamela Bonnevier, the head ...