PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Students cleared of gang-rape accusation sue university that expelled them anyway.

Four male students accused of sexually assaulting a female William Paterson University student are suing the school over their expulsions.

The four students, along with a fifth who has not filed a lawsuit, are alleging their civil rights were violated, they were falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted after campus police failed to properly investigate the sexual assault accusation against them.

Michael Epstein, an attorney for two of the accused students, said that the accused and accuser were on good terms after the sexual encounter and that police arrested his clients “based on the accuser’s report alone.” He said campus police didn’t interview other witnesses or seek cellphone records or surveillance video. They also didn’t assemble a rape kit to collect the physical evidence.

The five students were arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, conspiracy to commit sexual assault, criminal restraint and kidnapping. A grand jury refused to indict and the charges were dismissed, yet the school still expelled them.

A place that would do that sounds like a hostile educational environment for male students.