Aug. 30, 2006 — First-year orientation begins for William McCormick, then a member of the Class of 2010 and a wrestling recruit.
Sept. 6 — A female classmate of McCormick's makes a complaint to the University that he has been stalking her.
Sept. 13 — The female student alleges that McCormick raped her on the night of Sept. 6. McCormick is forced to leave campus.
Sept. 14 — Russell Carey, senior vice president for Corporation affairs and governance, hands McCormick a plane ticket home to Wisconsin. McCormick is not informed that he has been accused of rape. Over the following days, McCormick is made aware of the accusation, begins preparing a defense with his adviser — assistant wrestling coach Mike Burch — and hires attorney Walter Stone to advise him. According to federal court records, Stone's law firm — Adler Pollock & Sheehan — was representing the University in a separate matter while Stone was advising McCormick in the disciplinary process.
Oct. 3 — The female student's father — a University alum, donor and fundraiser — e-mails President Ruth Simmons, "Ruth … I am working to resolve the matter with the student who attacked (the female student) — the goal is to have him withdraw from Brown and not have a University hearing. This will enable (the female student) and the other students to avoid having to come in contact with the student and face questioning from his advocate."
Oct. 15 — McCormick withdraws from Brown, citing medical reasons. In court documents, he will later allege the experience aggravated an existing seizure condition.
September 2009 — McCormick's new lawyer, Scott Kilpatrick, files a complaint under seal in Rhode Island Superior Court. The claim alleges that McCormick was falsely accused and that the University mishandled the accusation because of the financial relationship of the female alum's father to the University. The motion to seal is granted, and there is no public record of the suit. The case is soon transferred to federal court, where it is again placed under seal.
April 12, 2010 — The Herald prints a story based on a leaked copy of the complaint. The case is unsealed later that day at a hearing in front of Judge William Smith.
Sept. 27 — A package addressed to Burch — who has been named a witness in the case — is hand-delivered anonymously to the home of Burch's girlfriend, a single mother. It contains an invitation for a free meal at Downcity Diner — a restaurant across the street from the offices of McCormick's lawyer. Burch shows up for dinner, where he finds out the restaurant was given cash by two women to pay for his meal. The next day, Burch receives an anonymous phone call about the package.
October 2010 — Using subpoenas, McCormick's lawyers trace the number used to call Burch to former New York Police Department Detective Pat Brosnan, owner of a private security firm. Brosnan works regularly for the female alum's father.
Jan. 6, 2011 — Well over a year into the suit, Federal Judge William Smith recuses himself without explanation.
Jan. 19 — Burch is granted a temporary civil restraining order against the father of the female alum in Rhode Island Superior Court in connection with the package and phone call.
Jan. 25 — Burch files a criminal complaint against the female alum's father with the Pawtucket Police in connection with the same incident. The investigation is currently ongoing.
Jan. 28 — Burch is denied a permanent restraining order in Superior Court because he had already raised the issue of witness intimidation in Federal Court. At the hearing on the restraining order, the female alum's father says Judge Smith recused himself from the federal case because his daughter is applying to Brown.
March 9 — Judge Ronald Lagueux recuses himself from the case, which will now be sent to a judge in New Hampshire.
