Baylor University coach Briles
Baylor head coach Briles reacts against Oklahoma in their NCAA Big 12 football game in Waco Texas © Rex/Mike Stone

A Baylor University graduate has filed a lawsuit alleging that 52 women were sexually assaulted by 31 of the school's American football players in a four-year period, a number that is more than triple the amount reported by the university.

In a report by the Guardian, a woman known as Elizabeth Doe disputed the institution's claims that 17 women reported rapes committed by 19 players, and said that the university took two years to investigate her claim that she was raped by two members of the team. The lawsuit alleges that in some cases, players were said to have filmed the attacks, sharing the footage with their friends.

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The case is one of five lawsuits against the country's largest Baptist university. The women allege that after the attacks, the school failed to protect them and sometimes ignored their complaints.

Although the woman in question filed the lawsuit to the Waco police, the team members accused were still allowed to play on the team.

Doe alleges that the football team carried a "culture of sexual violence". In an internal audit in 2016, the football team was described as being "above the rules", with staff interfering to challenge the claims made by the women.

The woman, who was part of a sport hosting group called the Baylor Bruins, alleges that the hosts were encouraged to have sex with the players, and used sex to sell the institution to new recruits.

The team's football coach and school president were fired in an attempt to tackle the scandal. Since then, Baylor president David Garland said the university had made "great progress" in since the sexual assault scandal erupted last year.

Garland said: "Baylor University has taken unprecedented actions that have been well documented in response to the issue of past and alleged sexual assaults involving our campus community."

"We have made great progress in implementing 105 recommendations to strengthen the safety and security of all students and restore faith in the university."