A 21-year-old woman who told police she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity party near the University of Chicago last weekend has been identified amid national outrage over sexual misconduct on college campuses.
Neither the woman nor the suspect are students, according to the university. The school said it was “not authorized to reveal” his name but that he had been banned from campus.
The University of Chicago said in a series of news releases this week that the woman told police the incident occurred at a party hosted by the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity off campus. The university said she submitted her report early Sunday morning.
The New York Times spoke with Mia Lara, a 21-year-old student at a nearby university, who said she witnessed her friend sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall, with her clothes and underwear pulled down. She told The Times that her friend began saying, “Make it stop” and “Get me out of here.” Laura told The Times she started screaming and the man ran away.
“This is deeply concerning for the university community,” the school said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our students and all who come to our community is our top priority.”
The Chicago Police Department said no arrests have been made and no additional information was provided.
The woman was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center and university police immediately contacted the Chicago Police Department, the university said.
The university noted that the fraternity is not a “recognized student organization” at the University of Chicago and therefore has no formal affiliation with the school. It added that “all university students are required to comply with university policies and disciplinary procedures” and that it “remains committed to resolving cases of sexual misconduct.”
The Lambda chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi said in a statement on Tuesday that the “perpetrator” had been removed from the house and that members were cooperating with authorities. The branch said it learned of the “situation” from one of the party’s “sobriety monitors” and members immediately came to the woman’s aid.
“One member stayed with the victim until the necessary authorities arrived, leaving only after police asked him to do so,” the fraternity said. “As soon as this incident was brought to our attention, the party was shut down.”
The fraternity added: “We will continue to fully support the investigation and provide support in any way possible.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday, citing a police report, that several men at the party prevented the woman’s friends from entering the bathroom, where she was found “not fully conscious” and undressed. At least one of the men got into a physical altercation with a friend of the woman, the newspaper added, according to the report.
NBC News has not independently obtained the report. The Chicago Police Department declined to provide a copy.
The fraternity’s national organization said in a statement that its members “have a responsibility to protect each other, our guests and our community at all times.”
University of Chicago student Alexa Walsh told NBC Chicago she hopes the university and fraternity take the allegation “seriously.”
“It’s very, very upsetting to hear that a woman came to our campus just to have some fun and was sexually assaulted,” she said.
The charges from the University of Chicago come amid national outrage over a former Cornell University student’s allegation that she was gang raped in an off-campus fraternity house in 2024. The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the university, the fraternity, Chi Phi, her sorority, Tri Delta and seven former Chi Phi members last month over the incident.
After facing weeks of harsh criticism, Cornell University said Tuesday it would suspend all “parties and social events” at fraternity houses for the remainder of the academic year.