7 women sue Dartmouth College for sexual assaults by 3 professors

WASHINGTON -- Seven women are suing Ivy League institution Dartmouth College for sexual assault, harassment and discrimination from three esteemed professors, local media reported Thursday.

For over a decade, these professors in the school's psychology and brain sciences department, "leered at, groped, sexted, intoxicated and even raped female students," said a New York Times report, citing court papers filed Thursday in a federal court in northeastern US state of New Hampshire.

"These professors ensured the young women in the department were vulnerable to this sexual harassment by conditioning faculty mentorship and support on students' participation in the alcohol-saturated 'party culture' they perpetuated," the complaint alleged.

The women also accused the college administration of looking the other way for more than 16 years, seeking 70 million dollars in damages.

Dartmouth College conducted a sexual misconduct investigation in late 2017 and concluded that the accused professors, identified as Todd Heatherton, William Kelley and Paul Whalen, should be removed from their jobs. All three were allowed to either resign or retire, said the New York Times report.