Introduction
Hello Everyone,
I am Demitric Baez, and I was a Graduate Intern/Hall Director for Burnap Hall at Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) from May 30, 2025, to September 18, 2025. I believe the public deserves to know about the strong and contradictory actions ECSU’s administrators took after I filed a Title IX report at their institution.
In July 2025, I was sexually assaulted at ECSU and met with Sara Madera (now Sara Judge), their Title IX Coordinator, on July 23, 2025, to report it. Due to depression from the assault, about 6 weeks after I reported the assault, I was hospitalized, and my supervisor started replacing my job functions the same day I was admitted to inpatient adult psychiatry at Rockville General Hospital. The day I was discharged, I was issued a Criminal Trespass Warning by ECSU Police and was rendered homeless (as seen on page 4), as reflected on my hospitalization paperwork. Finally, ECSU administrators contradicted my “termination” for weeks after I was “gone.”
Timeline
From My Report to My Plea for Grace From Sexual Assault Stress (A Short 6 Weeks)
On July 23, 2025, I met with ECSU’s Title IX Coordinator, Sara Judge, to report a sexual assault and chemical coercion (forced or manipulated ingestion of substances) that I faced shortly before our meeting. Next, on September 4, 2025, my direct supervisor, Alexander Corey, emailed me to ask about some administrative tasks I needed to complete. A short 46 minutes before I replied to his email, I sent my resident assistants (RAs) a staff meeting update email. When I replied to his email and copied Troi Branham, Associate Director for Residential Engagement, to ask for grace with assignment deadlines due the Title IX issue I faced in July, neither Alexander nor Troi emailed me a response.
Immediate Replacement When I Was Hospitalized (Suspected Retaliation)
On September 8, 2025, I was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit due to the associated stress from my sexual assault and chemical coercion in July.
On the same day I was admitted to the hospital, at 10:33 AM, Alexander started replacing me by scheduling one-on-one meetings with my RAs through the end of the semester.
The next day, on September 9, Alexander emailed me to tell me that he was clearing the one-on-ones we had scheduled “for now.”
Meeting During Hospitalization: ECSU & CCSU Administrators via Microsoft Teams
On September 16, while still hospitalized, I participated in a Microsoft Teams meeting, whose invitees included ECSU VP of Student Affairs Michelle Delaney, ECSU Director of Housing and Residential Life Paul Serignese, and Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) VP of Student Affairs Dr. Michael Russo. Please note that Dr. Russo was not in attendance at this meeting due to a scheduling conflict. In his place at the meeting was last-minute stand-in Kristen Dignazio-Drost, CCSU’s Interim Director of Counseling & Student Development at the time.
Discharge: Contradictory Dates
I was scheduled for discharge on September 17, 2025 (as seen at the top of page 2), which is reflected in my hospitalization paperwork. Despite this, I was not actually discharged until September 18, 2025 (as seen on page 4), which was the last day of the pay period, as highlighted in yellow on the ECSU Payroll Schedule.
Immediate “Termination” via Criminal Trespass Warning (Compounding My Trauma)
On September 18, 2025, less than three hours after my discharge paperwork was printed (as seen highlighted in blue on the top of page 4), I was issued a Criminal Trespass Warning by ECSU Campus Safety at 2:00 PM by Sergeant Christopher Fiore. I was issued the trespass warning shortly after I was presented with a resignation letter with my name misspelled that was not written by me.
The Aftermath: Administrative Contradictions
What happened next only deepened the confusion about my employment status. On September 29, 2025, I received an email from ECSU HR Assistant Director Durado Bailey, who confirmed me as “actively employed” to CT Department of Labor after I filed for unemployment. His email also said there was an influx of fraudulent unemployment claims at the time. Durado followed up with me once daily until October 1, 2025, since I did not respond to any of his emails.
On October 10, 2025, ECSU Director of Housing and Residential Life Paul Serignese contacted me to see if I wanted to retrieve my left behind items that I requested be donate to the Eastern Warriors Thrift Shop, which even he acknowledged in his email to me. This was just 4 days after Serignese, Corey, and Branham entered my former Grad HD Apartment on October 6, 2025.
This contradiction to the Criminal Trespass Warning left me confused and further compounded my trauma, especially since I am now homeless (as seen highlighted in yellow on page 4).
Finally, the same day Serignese contacted me, on October 10, 2025, ECSU Title IX Coordinator Sara Judge confirmed the university’s ‘official’ story: that my employment ended on September 18 (as seen highlighted in yellow on page 2) and my final paycheck was the one issued on October 3 (as seen highlighted in yellow on the ECSU Pay Schedule – please note that Judge mistakenly wrote October 2 in her email).
This official end date makes the September 29 email from HR – confirming me as “actively employed” to the Department of Labor – an impossible contradiction. It also makes the automated RA program proposal I received on October 5 clear proof that the university’s own systems still considered me an active supervisor, long after they claim I was ‘terminated’.
My Reason for Sharing
I share this publicly not with embitterment or anger, but to hold institutions accountable for their actions or inactions as pertinent to Title IX issues. Even today, feelings of shame, guilt, anger and helplessness cloud Title IX survivors and make them hesitant to bring their concerns forward. It is time we stop blaming victims and join forces to make our voices heard. I am honored to be one of those people who spearhead a venture to end the systemic injustices imposed on students, faculty, and staff nationwide!
We see that educational institutions can be “caught between a rock and a hard place” when balancing the safety and well-being of survivors and those of their communities. I think my final thesis on an ethics paper I recently submitted puts the message I want to convey best: “It is imperative that all professionals, especially those in student services, operate within strong ethical guardrails. If nothing else, taking the morally high road requires professionals to sideline their litigious inhibitions.”
Disclaimer
My narrative is based on facts that are supported by the hyperlinked documents I share on this webpage. Nothing in this narrative or presented in the documents is represented as an official or judicial opinion and is subject to due process per Connecticut state law. Private identifying information (PII) is redacted from all documents I share.
Education for Connecticut Residents Regarding Lawsuits for Sharing Sexual Assault Accusations Publicly (Disclaimer: Not Legal Advice!)
If someone in Connecticut publicly alleges that they were sexually assaulted, they are legally protected from being sued for it. If the alleged harasser sues the accuser, the accuser can ask the court to dismiss the charges and collect court costs. Please see the below paragraph, “Reminder to Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) System Regarding SLAPPs,” for more precise language.
Reminder to Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) System Regarding SLAPPs
Please note that under Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) §52-196a, defendants are legally protected from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) in response to an accusation of sexual assault, which are matters of public concern. Furthermore, pursuant to C.G.S. §52-196a(f)(1), “if the court grants a special motion to dismiss under this section, the court shall award the moving party costs and reasonable attorney’s fees, including such costs and fees incurred in connection with the filing of the special motion to dismiss.”
References:
- Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) §52-196a – Please click here to see the exact Connecticut Statute that protects litigants from SLAPPs.
- Please click here to see Connecticut Public Act 25-77, which explains the addition of sexual assault to Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S.) §52-196a.
- Specifically, on page 1, “…(B) written communication made by an individual, without actual malice, concerning the alleged commission of a crime…” is considered free speech.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. I believe that together, we can cultivate a veracious (truthful), just, and accountable higher education culture that values trauma-informed practices.