Victim in '98 Wharton attack settles lawsuit against Penn

A lawsuit filed against the University by a former female student who was attacked in the bathroom of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall by a knife-wielding youth was settled out of court last month. The student sued the University last November for failing to keep her attacker -- a West Philadelphia youth who was unaffiliated with Penn -- out of the building. The student, a sophomore at the time of the incident, had demanded in excess of $50,000 in the lawsuit, which was filed on the same day that her attacker, 17-year-old Steven Woodson, was sentenced to seven to 15 years in jail for the assault. "The issue is resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties," said Edward McDaid, the student's attorney. He would would not comment further on the settlement. Associate General Counsel Brenda Fraser could not be reached for comment on behalf of the University yesterday. In the early morning hours of November 8, 1998, while studying in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, the plaintiff was attacked by a knife-wielding man in one of the building's downstairs bathrooms. At the time of the assault, the victim claimed that she pressed one of the bathroom's panic alarms, which didn't work. She continued to struggle with her attacker until she managed to hit a second alarm, prompting Woodson to hide in a stall and allowing her to escape. In the aftermath of the attack, many of the victim's friends claimed that police officials mishandled the initial call for help and that the first panic alarm she pressed did not work. They also claimed that the Spectaguard security guard who responded to the second panic alarm took too long to come to the student's aid. But University Police claimed and a witness later confirmed that the alarm did work and that the security guard responded as quickly as possible. In the aftermath, University officials increased security in the 24-hour Wharton building and implemented a policy requiring all students to prominently display their PennCards while in several campus buildings late at night. Woodson, who was tried as an adult because of the severity of the charges against him, was convicted of aggravated assault and robbery. He was also charged with attempted murder, but was acquitted on that count