For Kendall Francis, LSU was supposed to represent something bigger than football. She was a first-generation college student whose family and friends already knew where she planned to go. Instead, Francis says an alleged sexual assault involving an LSU football player in October 2025 changed her freshman year and left her questioning how the university handled what followed.

“I’m a first-generation student; my family, you know, they all just knew that I was going to LSU,” Francis told WAFB. “My friends knew that I was going to LSU, so it just sucks that my experience has to be like this.”

Her account has now become part of a criminal investigation. The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation after Francis filed a criminal complaint.

DA Hillar Moore said his office requested reports, interviews, evidence, and other records from LSU, LSU Police, Baton Rouge Police, and other agencies that may have information about the case. The alleged incident occurred Oct. 18, 2025, according to WAFB.

Francis was a freshman at the time and had gone to an LSU dorm to visit a football player she had met through social media. The player’s name has not been publicly released by LSU or law enforcement. What happened inside LSU’s own disciplinary system is now a central part of the story.

LSU police responded and transported her to a local hospital, where she spent about seven hours, according to WAFB. Francis said she underwent a rape examination, commonly referred to as a rape kit.

According to internal documents obtained by WAFB, LSU’s Office of Civil Rights & Title IX found the student-athlete responsible for sexual assault and forcible rape. The player appealed, and the finding was upheld.

The punishment, however, was changed to disciplinary probation without restrictions. The two processes are separate, with different rules for proving what happened.

LSU’s Title IX process uses an administrative standard, while a criminal case requires prosecutors to meet the much higher burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

A finding against someone in a university case does not, by itself, mean criminal charges will follow. WAFB’s legal experts said federal Title IX rules did not require LSU to turn its administrative finding over for criminal prosecution.

However, she believed LSU’s finding meant the university would pursue criminal charges or otherwise take the next step with law enforcement. When that did not happen, she eventually began speaking publicly about the case.

“The fact that the university didn’t take care of it appropriately is just not okay,” Francis said.

The initial police report described the call differently from the way the incident was eventually handled through LSU’s Title IX system. The incident was recorded on Oct. 18 last year, when an LSU police officer was called to the football operations building.

The officer treated it as a mental-health-related situation and took a woman to a hospital for an evaluation. The police report did not reach LSU’s Title IX office until Dec. 9, according to WAFB, leaving nearly seven weeks between the initial response and the report being received.

LSU, though, has defended its handling of the matter. The program has also said the incident was initially reported to police by the student-athlete himself. The university said no criminal complaint was filed at that point.

LSU defended the program’s investigation procedure

LSU’s President Wade Rousse released a statement regarding the internal investigation on September 22. It came after Francis posted a TikTok video on September 14, in which she alleged that she was offered $1,000 for not filing a criminal complaint. She didn’t do so until she knew that the player was still on campus.

“Let me assure everyone that this incident has been handled professionally and that LSU has strictly followed our policies, procedures, and best practices, including the Title IX process, to guide our actions to date,” Rousse said in his statement.

Louisiana state Rep. Vanessa Caston LaFleur said she wants lawmakers to examine how universities communicate with students about the options available after a Title IX case concludes.

She said any possible changes would have to consider both victims’ rights and the rights of the accused. For now, the criminal investigation remains open.