DENVER — Colorado's second-highest court on Thursday agreed Denver Public Schools board member Auon'tai M. Anderson may pursue defamation claims against two women who posted unsubstantiated allegations online that he committed sexual assault.
Anderson, who is vice president of DPS' board of education, originally filed suit against Black Lives Matter 5280 and three individuals who played a role in disseminating unproven allegations of Anderson's misconduct. Specifically, the defendants made a series of inflammatory statements suggesting Anderson sexually assaulted multiple women and victimized more than 60 high school students.
An independent investigation DPS commissioned in 2021 found Anderson did appear to make unwelcome or inappropriate sexual comments, but could not substantiate the assault claims.
Based in part on the investigation's findings and the statements of the defendants, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals concluded Anderson had viable defamation claims against two people who accused him of criminal conduct: Jeeva Senthilnathan and Mary Katherine Brooks-Fleming.
>9NEWS.com readers can view the full story at Colorado Politics.
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