BROOMFIELD, Colorado (AP) -- The University of Colorado has been hit with more allegations of rape by football players and uneasy questions about how much school officials knew about drinking by underage recruits.
Two more women have come forward in the past three months with rape allegations, said Janine D'Anniballe, executive director of Boulder rape crisis center Moving to End Sexual Assault, speaking Tuesday at a public meeting of the panel probing the scandal.
Eight women since 1997 have accused Colorado football players or recruits of rape. No assault charges have been filed in any of the cases. Three have sued the school, saying they were raped at or just after an off-campus party attended by football players and recruits in 2001.
The regents' panel for the first time reported on what it has found so far after reviewing depositions in a federal lawsuit filed against the school by one of the women who says she was raped.
Testimony in the depositions showed it was clear underage recruits had access to alcohol when they were being shown around by player-hosts, panel commissioner Jean McAllister said.
"There's a strong indication people at the university knew these things were going on," she said.
D'Anniballe said confidentiality rules barred her from disclosing details of the latest assault claims, including whether the players are still on the team. It was not immediately clear when the alleged assaults occurred.
A spokesman for Attorney General Ken Salazar, who is leading a separate criminal investigation into the scandal, declined to comment when asked whether new cases had been reported. Campus and Boulder police both referred calls to Salazar's office.
University spokeswoman Michele Ames said the new information underscores the importance of the ongoing investigations. She declined further comment when reached by telephone.
Luis Rovira, commissioner of the eight-member panel investigating the team's practices, wouldn't comment on D'Anniballe's statement Tuesday.
"I have no reason to believe her and no reason to acknowledge it's incorrect," he said. "I just don't know."
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