Chicago Police Investigate Reported Sexual Assault at Alpha Epsilon Pi House Near University of Chicago
Chicago police are investigating a reported sexual assault at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house at the University of Chicago.
The university alerted the campus on Oct. 13 that a person of interest had been identified after the assault was reported at the fraternity house on Oct. 11, according to a community alert from the university.
Chicago police said no one had been charged as of Monday and the investigation is ongoing.
The university said the person of interest is not a University of Chicago student and is not affiliated with the university. School officials said the person was banned from campus.
Fraternities and sororities are not recognized student organizations at the University of Chicago, but the university said all students are required to follow school rules and policies.
Alpha Epsilon Pi said in a statement that it is working with Chicago police. The fraternity said members chased the man out of the building and stayed with the woman until authorities arrived.
A university spokesperson said the school is conducting its own review while police investigate.
"Separate from CPD's ongoing investigation, the University will continue to communicate with students who are members of the fraternity or were witnesses to gather information about how this event unfolded," the spokesperson said in a statement.
The university said it will evaluate whether any university policies were violated as it learns more information.
"As the University learns more, it will consider whether violations of University policy occurred, and will initiate disciplinary actions as warranted," the spokesperson said.
The investigation is happening at a time of increased attention to how colleges handle sexual assault reports. A former Cornell student filed a lawsuit over how that university responded to her report of a gang rape, according to reporting on the case. Cornell has hired a former U.S. Department of Justice official to investigate its handling of the matter.
The men accused in the Cornell case have denied wrongdoing, and the criminal investigation there has reopened.
RAINN, which operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, said in a statement that the Cornell case has prompted more people to call the hotline.
"Unfortunately, the systems that are here to protect and provide justice let us down," Megan Cutter of RAINN said in the statement.
A 2019 Association of American Universities survey found that students who experienced sexual assault and sought help or reported an incident were slightly more likely to contact campus police than local police. The survey found 11.2% contacted campus police and 9.4% contacted local police. Counseling was the most commonly contacted resource, at 46.8%.
The University of Chicago said it will continue communicating with students who were members of the fraternity or witnessed the incident as police continue their investigation.
