Texas Ranger Division to Investigate Baylor's Handling of Sexual Assault Claims

Baylor University's handling of high-profile sexual assault allegations has been under the microscope over the past year, and the Texas Rangers investigative agency has now opened a review of the school's response, according to ESPN.com's Max Olson and Mark Schlabach. 

"The Texas Rangers are working with the local prosecutor to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if further action is warranted," Texas Department of Public Safety press secretary Tom Vinegar said.

In the fall of 2015, Baylor hired Philadelphia-based law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP to conduct a comprehensive review of the school's response to sexual assault allegations. 

In May 2016, the school released the findings of that investigation.

Among them were "specific failings within both the football program and athletics department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player and to a report of dating violence" and "significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor's football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student-athlete misconduct."

Baylor also announced the dismissal of head football coach Art Briles at the time, as well as sanctions against former athletic director Ian McCaw.

And while the Wall Street Journal's Brad Reagan reported in November that Baylor wouldn't face sweeping NCAA sanctions a la Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky case, the school was notified of damning allegations two months later. 

On Jan. 27, a plaintiff listed as Elizabeth Doe filed a lawsuit against Baylor that included "an allegation that 31 Baylor football players committed at least 52 acts of rape, including five gang rapes, between 2011 and 2014—an estimate that far exceeds the number previously provided by school officials," per the Dallas Morning News' Sarah Mervosh. 

The allegations also highlighted systemic issues within the football program that "used sex to sell" Baylor to prospective recruits. 

"What has happened here in Waco, what happened at Baylor, is so far different from any university in the state," Texas state representative Roland Gutierrez said on ESPN's Capital Games podcast, per Olson and Schlabach. "We can't stop bad things from happening, but we sure as hell can demand accountability. We sure as hell can demand that people protect our children."