BOULDER, Colo. — Documents filed in Denver federal court last week state that CU-Boulder football officials tried to get CU police to give special treatment to athletes arrested for assault — and let CU’s athletic department handle the situation internally.

“They told the police there was no reason for an arrest,” stated a response to a CU motion filed with the documents by attorneys for two women suing CU.

“‘Get us and we’ll take care of it … suspend them from games … run laps … take care of it internally'” a CU Police officer said he was told by CU head football coach Gary Barnett and Football Operations Coordinator David Hansburg.

The officer’s testimony is still under protective seal, but attorneys referred to it in their response.

Also included in the response was a former prostitute’s affidavit that claims David Hansburg, football operations coordinator, tried to convince her not to go to police with her allegation that she provided services for young athletic men at two local hotels where CU hosts high school recruits.

“He kept asking if I had told this to police,” said Pasha Cowan, former owner of Best Variety escort service, in her affidavit. “He said, we would rather handle this ‘ourselves’ or ‘internally.'”

Cowan said former CU recruiting assistant Nathan Maxcey paid her $2,500 cash over about two months in the fall of 2002 for prostitutes to visit young, athletic men at Broomfield’s Omni Interlocken Hotel and the Boulder Millennium Harvest House. She he hired escorts six to ten times total, who worked for $250 per hour.

Maxcey has said he hired the women only for himself and not for players.

“I was shocked and upset to hear him (Barnett) adamantly deny sex had ever been a part of enticing a football recruit to CU,” said Cowan. She later said, “My heart went out to these women, and I thought the coach an others should not get away with their false denials.”

Cowan said she reported her knowledge to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department, thought she knew she could get into legal trouble. The documents filed Wednesday oppose CU’s request for dismissal of the lawsuits of former students Lisa Simpson and Anne Gilmore, who claim CU was deliberately indifferent to pervasive sexual harassment, leading to the denial of educational opportunities under federal Title IX and, they allege, to their rape by CU football players and/or recruits at a Dec. 2001 party.

According to its motion filed in April, CU attorneys requested the lawsuits be thrown out on several grounds. First, that CU officials were not notified of previous harassment by the player that allegedly assaulted Simpson.

The university claims its student policies and Player’s Handbook cover sexual harassment, so it was not “deliberately indifferent.” It claims that Simpson was only allegedly gang raped once, so the harassment was not “pervasive.” Lastly, CU claims that since Simpson was not participating in an educational activity, but a private house party, she was not deprived of an education at CU.

Attorneys for the women debated each point in their response. They cited findings CU’s Independent Investigative Commission, which examined the culture at CU. “The IIC found that, for years, CU coaches ‘knew or should have known about the use of sex and alcohol by recruits and hosts and of the potential harm,'” the response stated.

They also argued that CU may have had policies in place against harassment, but failed to enforce them.

“In early 2002, as in 1998, (Chancellor Richard) Byyny directed the football program to institute recruiting reforms but again failed to “follow through on his directives,” Simpson’s attorneys stated, citing suit exhibits.

“…Ms. Simpson suffered from a continuing hostile environment at CU, as its football program sought the admission of a recruit who raped her, and as CU failed to punish the players for her assaults … interfered with its own investigation … and disseminated inaccurate and private information about Ms. Simpson to the media even though its own police investigators concluded that she had been gang raped,” stated the response, claiming this “pervasive” harassment eventually caused Simpson to leave the university, thereby depriving her of an education.

CU Spokeswoman Michele McKinney would not comment on specifics of the lawsuit, but she indicated CU is moving forward with its action plan to address concerns surrounding its athletic program and student safety.

“Documents filed by plaintiffs (Wednesday) … contain various allegations of misconduct. These allegations have been examined for several months and will continue to be as the case moves forward,” said a statement provided by McKinney. “We respect the privacy and confidentiality of the individuals involved and we decline to discuss the details of these cases.”

An attorney for Anne Gilmore gave the Colorado Daily consent to use the alleged victim’s name.