University Wins Suit Against Homosexual Student Who Sent Obscene E-mails
by Jim Brown
July 21, 2005
(AgapePress) - A former Baylor University seminary student who lost his scholarship because of his homosexual lifestyle is paying the price for sending more than 1,000 lewd e-mail messages to school officials and their family members.
A judge recently ordered 25-year-old James Bass to pay $77,000 for sending pornographic images and messages to officials at Baylor, a Baptist university in Waco, Texas. The former student, who withdrew from the school after losing his scholarship as a result of his homosexual conduct, was also ordered to stop sending e-mail to the university personnel and their families.
Baylor attorney Andy McSwain says the school officials are satisfied with the judge's ruling. He says a portion of the monetary judgment represents attorneys' fees and other costs the university had to incur in dealing with this problem.
"We believe the judge acted fairly," McSwain says. "As a part of this, Baylor also could have had the right to seek exemplary damages to punish Mr. Bass, but it waived those damages so that it could get this over with and move on."
The lawyer says a Baylor University investigation revealed that the former Baylor student had engaged in "spoofing" -- or forging an e-mail header to make it appear as though it came from someone other than the actual source. Bass, who is now a theology student at Emory University in Atlanta, has never responded to the Baylor lawsuit or denied that he sent the obscene e-mail messages to more than 50 people.
A spokesperson for Emory University's Candler School of Theology says that school is aware of the outcome of the lawsuit involving Bass. However, Emory says it "cannot comment on issues pertaining to specific students" without violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
As for Baylor University's part, McSwain feels the case is now fully resolved. He notes, "The judge previously, in the spring, ordered Mr. Bass to stop sending those types of e-mails to Baylor and the Baylor family, and he did. This now makes that prohibition permanent, and I expect that he will abide by it."
The fact that the disgruntled former student appears to be complying and has ceased his barrage of lewd e-mails is, in and of itself, "very significant" to Baylor University officials, McSwain points out. "Frankly," the attorney says, "at least as far as Baylor is concerned, this has been an unusual circumstance. This is not the kind of problem they have had," and he believes the university officials are glad to put it behind them.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
