Oxford Brookes gang rape claim led to students' expulsion

Two students were expelled from Oxford Brookes University following an allegation of gang rape, the BBC can confirm.

A third was suspended after an appeal, and a fourth given a less serious punishment.

The incident, first revealed in The Times, was reported to the university in February 2018.

The university said it issued "appropriate penalties".

The alleged victim was a 19-year-old student who claimed she did not consent to sex with any of the four students, according to the Times.

A police investigation was carried out "over a period of several months" in 2018, a spokesman for Thames Valley Police told the BBC.

However, it was "decided that there was insufficient evidence to progress the case further".

The spokesman added that any new information relating to the investigation should be reported to the force.

The Times reported that a separate investigation by the university resulted in two of the students being expelled.

A third student's punishment was reduced - following an appeal - from expulsion to a term's suspension, and an order to write an apology letter to the alleged victim.

A fourth was not found to have breached university regulations and was given a written warning, the paper added.

Questions have been raised over the university's admissions policy, after it was reported that one of the students had been under investigation for sexual offences at a US university.

Oxford Brookes was one of dozens of universities mentioned on the Everyone's Invited website

The university said in a statement that sexual violence and harassment had "no place at Oxford Brookes".

It said the incident was "thoroughly investigated" and that the university had liaised with the police.

"Appropriate penalties, including the most severe penalties available to the University in relation to some of the students, were applied and were upheld on appeal," it said.

It said it recognised the "very distressing nature of the allegations" and that specialist support services had helped "those most closely affected".

"As part of our commitment to maintaining an inclusive and respectful culture, we are reviewing behaviour and practices within Brookes Sport, including all clubs, to ensure that policies and practices promote the culture, behaviours and values we expect of all our students," it added.

Oxford Brookes was one of dozens of universities mentioned on the Everyone's Invited website, which made headlines in March after thousands of victims shared experiences of sexual assault and rape at schools and universities in the UK.

At the time, the university said it was "very concerned" by accounts of "traumatic experiences" at Oxford Brookes, and encouraged students to report incidents.

Around the same time, a group of Oxford Brookes students campaigned for better lighting in parts of the city, after Sarah Everard's murder sparked a debate over women's safety.

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