LSU student who says a football player raped her says the school failed her as police open a criminal probe

A Louisiana State University student who says a member of the Tigers football team raped her on campus has finally seen police and prosecutors take up her case, about a year after she first came forward.

Kendall Francis says Damien Shanklin raped her on Oct. 18, 2025. The school's own inquiry under Title IX concluded he was responsible for "forcible rape." LSU police and the local district attorney's office have now opened a criminal investigation. Shanklin's attorneys say he is innocent and has been working with investigators.

In a statement his legal team argued that what has circulated online and in news coverage so far leaves out key facts. The lawyers said Shanklin is waiting for the day when everything about the incident comes out in public.

'Who would believe me?'

Francis sat down for a national TV interview that aired Monday. She said an encounter that began as consensual turned into something else and that she and Shanklin now give very different accounts of that night. Afterward one question kept running through her head, she said: who would believe her?

She also spoke with Baton Rouge station WAFB and said the university let her down. "I would like to see him in jail," she told the station. She added that she wants to see action over how LSU dealt with her case because she does not believe she was treated fairly.

A suspension cut down on appeal

Shanklin was first given a one-year suspension that would have kept him off campus and away from the team. He appealed. After that the penalty shrank to probation lasting four semesters, with no limits attached, so he could stay on the field.

He suited up for five games during the 2025 season, first for Brian Kelly and later for interim coach Frank Wilson. Of those five, three were played after the date of the alleged assault. One of them was the 2025 Texas Bowl, played weeks after police had sent their report to the school's Title IX office.

A TikTok video brought the case to a wider audience

Francis first told her story publicly in a TikTok video posted on Sept. 14. In it she said the appeal decision reached her while she was sitting in class. According to Francis the letter still found Shanklin responsible for rape but cleared him to play football and join campus groups. She said that made her anxiety much worse because she did not want to run into him.

She said in the video that she is now speaking out because she believes LSU shields its athletes, especially members of the football team.

As of now Shanklin is still a member of the Tigers' roster.