ECU student facing expulsion speaks to WITN after video of her story goes viral

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN)—An East Carolina University student is gaining viral attention after her TikTok video garnered millions of views.

Faith Pellini says she’s facing expulsion for actions she says she took against another student she claims is responsible for sexual assaults on campus.

The viral video of her story can be seen here.

Pellini tells WITN she punched another student in the face, who she says has sexually assaulted multiple women, which led to her possible expulsion.

WITN is not sharing that man’s name at this time as he has not been charged with a crime.

Pellini says she hopes that sharing her story will bring change.

“I hope that it brings changes around the school. I hope public universities, private universities, universities period, institutions period, take rape more seriously. I hope they take violence against women more seriously,” said Pellini.

ECU student, U’Neek Burch, who told WITN we could use her name in telling her story, says she is a victim of the man accused of these attacks.

She says she filed a complaint with ECU regarding the man, but says nothing really came of it.

“I was assaulted at an off campus party in October. I reported my assault to ECU and nothing really occurred based off of me reporting it. My friend, Faith, she took actions into her own hands,” said Burch.

Burch says that she received a no contact directive from the university telling her not to contact the man. The documentation reviewed by WITN also says he was given the same directive.

ECU Deputy Police Chief Chris Sutton says the man accused in these attacks has not been charged with anything by them, and they’ve only heard about this through people who are not his alleged victims. Sutton says the department has tried to talk to the potential victims and they have not cooperated.

As for Burch, WITN asked her why she didn’t go to the police.

Burch says that she did not go to the police because she was scared and says the situation has taken a toll on her emotional health.

We asked ECU for comment on the case and they said that due to student privacy laws they cannot discuss specific students or cases.

The university says that when a report of an assault comes in, the appropriate staff member follows up with the victim to ensure their safety, assess their well-being and connect them with support services such as counseling. Students are also informed of available resources both on and off campus, as well as their reporting options. If an incident is reported by a third party, staff will seek out the victim and offer support. If the victim chooses to participate, the appropriate staff move forward with the process. All parties involved are afforded due process, according to ECU.

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