We've dedicated our careers to advocating for survivors of sexual violence - individuals failed by institutions meant to protect them. However, our most recent case presents a new challenge.
This case does not involve a secretive exam room or an abusive coach. Instead, it revolves around stolen passwords, hacked cloud accounts, and the exploitation of private images from a distance. Yet, the violation is just as personal, devastating, and real.
This is the face of cyber sexual assault.
In recent times, we have collaborated with student-athletes nationwide - particularly young women - whose private information was unlawfully accessed. According to federal prosecutors, former University of Michigan football coach Matt Weiss infiltrated multiple personal email accounts without authorization.
Several of these accounts belonged to student-athletes and contained sensitive or compromising photos and videos. Some of our clients only discovered they were affected upon receiving a notification from the U.S. Department of Justice.
For these athletes, the trauma is immense - and unfortunately, not unfamiliar to some. One of our clients is a survivor of Dr. Larry Nassar's abuse.
All of them made significant sacrifices to pursue college athletics, only to be let down again by the institutions they represented.
We must acknowledge this as a form of digital sexual violence.
Cyber sexual assault involves unauthorized access to the most intimate aspects of an individual's life. Unlike traditional sexual violence, it does not necessitate physical contact. The violation occurs through a screen, yet the repercussions are equally traumatic.
Regrettably, higher education institutions have been slow to identify this threat. While many have robust policies for physical assault, few have established procedures for addressing digital breaches of student privacy - let alone cyber sexual abuse.
In this instance, universities' failure to vet and supervise third-party vendors facilitated a significant breach across multiple institutions. Even after being alerted to the danger, many schools neglected to inform students. Some of our clients only learned they were victims through court documents or news coverage, not from their schools.
It is time for schools to prioritize cybersecurity as they do campus security, viewing it as a matter of student safety. When student-athletes are targeted - when their private images are accessed and potentially distributed without consent - it is as much a violation as physical assault.
The Weiss case is part of a troubling pattern. In 2024, the FBI reported a notable rise in sextortion and image-based abuse affecting minors and college-age students. As technology advances, so do the tactics of abusers. However, our systems and institutions are failing to keep pace.
Our clients are not solely seeking accountability in this case. They are advocating for a broader examination of how we understand and address sexual violence in the digital era.
This begins with treating cyber sexual assault with the gravity it demands. Universities must promptly notify victims, fully cooperate with investigations, and implement trauma-informed protocols for digital violations as they would for physical ones. It also involves recognizing that when data is breached, lives are breached - and survivors deserve support, not silence.
We owe it to these student-athletes to rise to the occasion. And we owe it to future generations to construct institutions deserving of their trust.
Megan Bonanni and Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller are plaintiff attorneys who have represented numerous survivors in some of the most significant sexual assault cases in the nation, playing crucial roles in the Larry Nassar/USA Gymnastics and Robert Anderson/University of Michigan litigations.