Howard reported this to the University of Toledo, but according to Briggs Alexander et al. v. The University of Kentucky et al., there were no direct consequences, and in 2012, Jorgensen was hired as associate head coach for UK’s swimming and diving program. 

     Howard wrote to Barnhart a couple of days after the initial email, “If I sit idly by with 1st hand knowledge then I am a man of no character. I just wanted you to know who would be at the helm of your Swimming and Diving Program.” 

Barnhart never responded.

     Two years later, in 2014, Jorgensen officially became head coach at UK, but former softball coach Tarrah Beyster sued the University of Toledo after being fired for insubordination. In the process, she cited what she considered misconduct by other employees — including Jorgensen.

     In Beyster v. The University of Toledo, Beyster stated Jorgensen “had a long-term romantic relationship with a player” at Toledo, reinforcing the allegation Howard had emailed Conelly and Barnhart about two years prior.

Jorgensen continued to coach at UK, despite the attempted warnings from former colleagues. 

     Kristi Willett, the executive director of public relations at UK, claimed the university “was not aware of the most serious allegations until this lawsuit was filed by Alexander and Doe (I),” in an email sent to KRNL on Jan. 8, 2025.

However, the university was aware in 2019, according to records obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader, of Jorgensen failing to report sexual harassment allegations made against one of his staff members. Jorgensen was suspended for six days without pay.

     The university was aware of a Discrimination, Harassment, or Sexual Misconduct Report Form submitted on Aug. 19 of that same year that cited two allegations of sexual assault by Jorgensen, one of which allegedly happened at UK.

     “Coach Jorgensen had repeatedly sexually assaulted and engaged in unwelcome sexual misconduct with (redacted) when she worked at the University of Kentucky… In addition, Coach Jorgensen reportedly would go into office at the university and masturbate in front of her,” the form, obtained by KRNL through open records, said.

     The form was filed by UK’s Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (IEEO) officer Andrew Beppler after Tracey Tsugawa, the Title IX Coordinator at San Jose State University, called the university with the allegations against Jorgensen.

     Women’s swim coaches at San Jose State reported these allegations to Tsugawa, as mandated under their university’s policy.

     For context, the IEEO office oversees Title IX compliance. Title IX, according to UK’s website, is “a comprehensive program designed to protect members of the University community from discrimination on the basis of sex or gender, which includes Sexual Harassment under Title IX and Sexual Misconduct.”

     Beppler marked the Discrimination, Harassment, or Sexual Misconduct Report Form, which contained two detailed accounts of alleged sexual assault by a UK employee, “not urgent.” 

     On Aug. 23, 2019, the IEEO office sent Jorgensen a letter, also obtained by KRNL through open records, that the office was notified of potential violations to “the University’s policies relating to discrimination or harassment.”

     The letter stated, “If you are doing anything that might violate a policy, you should stop immediately.”

     Three days after Jorgensen received this letter, he was interviewed by the lead Title IX investigator. In this interview, according to its transcript, Jorgensen denied all allegations.

     Jorgensen explained, “We were friends, we went to dinner at times, we do that with our whole coaching staff … there isn’t a staff member I haven’t been to dinner with alone.”

     KRNL does not know the identity of the alleged victim mentioned during this interview. 

     The notes from this interview, obtained by KRNL, stated that the investigators “wanted to reiterate power dynamics issue,” with an asterisked note “guidance on not taking to dinner solo.”

     The matter was considered closed after that conversation, according to the interview notes, which stated that it would be kept on file “indefinitely.” Title IX’s investigation lasted one week.

     Yet the university claims it “was not aware of the most serious allegations” until Alexander and Jane Doe I’s 2024 lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court. 

According to that lawsuit, the university was aware that Alexander had contacted the UK Title IX Office in May 2023 and received a form to fill out.

In June of 2023, Alexander was contacted by the Title IX Office, to discuss Jorgensen’s coaching tactics.

     According to the lawsuit, during the initial interview, Alexander said he reported to Meredith Reeves, the Title IX Officer, “that he had been groomed, sexually harassed, and sexually assaulted by Jorgensen.”

     KRNL attempted to contact Reeves, but she is no longer employed by the university, and her UK email address was not reachable. 

     The university was aware that around the same time, Jane Doe II, an anonymous accuser separate from the Jane Doe I who is suing, also reported the sexual assault and harassment she endured under Jorgensen to the Title IX Office, according to the lawsuit.

     The lawsuit alleged that despite hearing both Alexander and Jane Doe II recount Jorgensen’s unwanted sexual acts, Reeves “discouraged both from formally reporting their abuse” using the reasoning that the information was “sensitive” and thought they “probably didn’t want to tell their story.”

     Furthermore, Alexander said Reeves encouraged him to “go home and ‘think about what you are going to start if you choose to file.’”

     The lawsuit also stated Reeves told Alexander and Jane Doe II that if Jorgensen left UK, the Title IX Office “would be ‘unable’ to investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct so the Title IX process would be ‘pointless.’”

Both of them said they made it clear that they wanted to file a report.

Fifteen days later, Jorgensen was given the option to resign from UK and signed an agreement that he would receive $75,000 from the university, according to the lawsuit.

     After his resignation date, no investigation into the sexual assault allegations was done.

     Alexander reached out to the Title IX Office in Oct. of 2023, wanting to confirm if any investigation would take place or if it was unlikely due to Jorgensen’s resignation.

     “I disclosed my abuse and thought it was being taken care of. And months went by and I never heard anything back,” Alexander said at a Zoom press conference on April 17, 2024. “I was vigorously discouraged to not come forward and not publish this reporting.”

     As of June 25, 2024, the most recently amended lawsuit stated that Alexander is still unsure what happened to his Title IX complaint against Jorgensen. 

     According to the lawsuit, Doe I also reached out to Reeves in October of 2023, but after no response, Doe I contacted Interim Title IX Coordinator Brandon Williams.

     Williams told Jane Doe I, “There was nothing that could be done since Jorgensen was no longer affiliated with UK,” but Jane Doe I made it clear that she wanted her complaint to be investigated by the university.

     On Nov. 2, 2023, the Title IX Office emailed Jane Doe I, “confirming that they would not investigate once an employee resigns but that giving a statement would allow UK to provide Jane Doe I with ‘resources’ such as counseling.”

     For months, the lawsuit stated, there was no clear communication from the Title IX office. This included back and forth on whether or not they would investigate.

     As of June 25, 2024, Jane Doe I was still unsure what happened to her Title IX complaint against Jorgensen.

 

Who did Title IX protect?

     On UK’s Title IX website, it states that there are two categories of prohibited behavior: “Sexual Harassment Under Title IX and Sexual Misconduct.”

     The same two categories of behavior Alexander, Jane Doe I and Jane Doe II alleged and reported to the Title IX Office regarding Jorgensen.

     Yet, the lawsuit claims nothing was done. 

     Hadley Duvall, an activist for sexual assault and abuse victims, who has also been seen on the campaign trails with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and former Vice President Kamala Harris, said Title IX’s response in this case is something she has seen before. 

     “The process is very … not for us (sexual assault victims). Like, that's for sure,” Duvall said. “It is built against us. And so is Title IX."

     Duvall said she kept her experience of being raped by her stepfather as a child to herself for 10 years “out of fear of not being believed,” the same reason why many victims don’t report.

     “People’s first question is, why didn’t you tell before?” Duvall said. “It’s like, if you don’t talk about something happening right then, in that moment, then it didn’t happen. And that’s just not true. The investigation process is brutal... it is not a welcoming or comforting place to speak about the most traumatic thing you've ever been through."

     After years of alleged abuse, Alexander, Jane Doe I and Jane Doe II shared their secrets with UK’s Title IX Office in hopes of being believed. 

Alexander explained why he chose to go to Title IX over the police at the press conference.

     “You never know what could happen to someone if something is reported to the police. I didn't know if I was going to be in danger or taken seriously,” Alexander said to the media. “I think that our (student-athletes’) police is the Title IX Office.”

     Duvall said this is exactly what universities hope students are led to believe if they want to make a report against an employee.

     “Title IX is really here so institutions can say, ‘We have this in place, so don’t call the police,’" Duvall said. 

     But Duvall said “justice cannot be served without the police involved.”

KRNL spoke with UKPD, LexPD and the Kentucky State Police. None of them have opened an investigation against Jorgensen, making UK’s Title IX Office the only institution the former UK swimmers made reports to.

     “Title IX offices are there to protect us as student-athletes when our coaches aren't protecting us,” Alexander said at the April 2024 press conference. “In this situation, he (Jorgensen) wasn't. We should have been able to trust the Title IX Office, and none of us could and we didn't know that.”

Duvall suggested the lack of justice for these alleged acts is representative of a systemic issue.

     “This has definitely shown that Title IX, not only in Kentucky, but across the United States, does nothing but save the institution,” Duvall said. “Institutions would rather cover their ass than make sure they didn't hire a rapist.”

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Who will answer for this?

     KRNL made several attempts to talk with Alexander, Jorgensen, the lawyers involved in the lawsuit and university representatives before sending this story to print. 

     Alexander’s legal team is aware of the story and thanked KRNL for covering this “important issue,” but ultimately declined to comment due to the “sensitive nature of the case.”

     KRNL confirmed Briggs Alexander is currently employed by UK. 

Jorgensen’s lawyer, Greg Anderson, responded to KRNL’s request via email on March 4, 2025. Anderson stated, “Do not launch the article until we have talked.”

     KRNL replied the same day with times to talk. Anderson never scheduled the meeting. 

     He did state in April 2024, a day after the lawsuit was filed, that the allegations made were “defamatory.” He said the accusations were in response to Jorgenson’s support for his former swimmer Riley Gaines, who is known for campaigning against trans-women in women’s sports.

     “This all has to do with NCAA woke philosophy and his support of his swimmer, Ms. Gaines,” Anderson told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “The timing of it, in light of her (Alexander) statements publicly, is extremely suspicious.”

     But concerns about Jorgensen were raised to the University’s Title IX Office in 2019, according to the records KRNL obtained. It wasn’t until 2022 that Jorgenson publicly supported Gaines.

     Mitch Barnhart also declined to talk through a text from Tony Neely, assistant athletic director for athletics communications and public relations. It said, “We do not do interviews on pending litigation, so we will decline the request.”

     KRNL attempted to contact Meredith Reeves, Jenna Wesley, senior athletic director of compliance, and Julia Phillips, deputy director of investigations of the IEEO office, and was met with the following statement from the executive director of UK’s public relations Kristi Willett:

     “When we received other reports of misconduct, we followed our processes and the law,” the statement said. 

     Willett went on to explain that at the same time, there is more they can do to ensure the safety and well-being of the community. She said UK is implementing new “reforms” on campus.

     “Those include hiring additional personnel for sexual harassment investigations; ensuring all employment contracts and hiring letters include clear consequences for failing to report sexual harassment or assault; enhancing pre-employment screenings; and, in rare instances where a settlement with a UK employee is being considered, consulting our IEEO office regarding the status of any investigations.”

     KRNL received the same statement from Whitney Siddiqi, director of issues management and crisis communication, after an attempt to contact current Title IX Coordinator Sarah Mudd.

     As of February 2025, UK and Mitch Barnhart still face active claims for sexual harassment in violation of Title IX, which is the creation of a sexually hostile culture, a heightened risk of sexual harassment and deliberate indifference to prior sexual harassment, according to the amended lawsuit.

     The lawsuit also contains a second claim against UK and Mitch Barnhart for sex discrimination in violation of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act: sex discrimination, sex harassment and hostile work environment.

     Briggs Alexander et al. v. The University of Kentucky et al. still claims Jorgensen committed Title IX sexual harassment, and sexual discrimination under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act.

     He also allegedly violated bodily integrity, sex discrimination under the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment, negligence, vicarious liability and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit continues, allegations stand and many questions remain unanswered. 

     “I think we all deserve peace and healing from this time of our lives,” Alexander said.