The University of Connecticut (UConn) can add a federal lawsuit to its worries in their alleged mishandling of multiple claims of sexual assault on campus.

According to the Huffington Post, four women have filed a federal lawsuit against UConn claiming the school did not properly follow through on their claims of being sexually assaulted on campus.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, is in addition to the two federal complaints already filed with the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The four lawsuit complainants - current students Carolyn Luby, Rose Richi and Erica Daniels, and UConn graduate Kylie Angell - are also associated with the OCR filings. High-profile civil rights attorney Gloria Allred is representing the group.

"President Herbst apparently believes that all is well at UConn; she appears not to understand or care about the serious problems at the university," Allred said.

UConn president Susan Herbst initially responded to the girls' claims nearly two weeks ago at a meeting with the school's Board of Trustees by calling them "astonishingly misguided and demonstrably untrue."

The women found those comments "demeaning" and were "shocked" to hear Herbst be so dismissive toward claims of sexual violence.

"Our only motive is to get change, something she made clear is unnecessary," Richi said. "It was the most disappointing, invalidating and unreasonable response I've heard yet."

UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz tried to clarify what Herbst was actually referring to as being "misguided" and "untrue." She said the president was referring to allegations that the school is indifferent to such claims and did not mean to sound uncaring of any victims. Reitz said she is limited in what she may comment on in a legal situation, but will respond "accordingly" as the process calls for.

"The university does all in its power to appropriately investigate and handle such claims in a manner that is fully compliant with the law and grounded in both sensitivity and fairness," Reitz said. "We will carefully assess the allegations contained in the federal lawsuit filed today."

Allred is also representing women who have filed similar complaints at Occidental College and the University of Southern California. Allred settled a lawsuit filed by the Occidental students for an undisclosed amount in September.

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