Group of men applaud when woman sexually assaulted at University of Chicago frat party: report

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A group of men cheered when a 21-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a University of Chicago fraternity last weekend while her two friends frantically tried to pick the lock to save her, according to reports.

The woman, 21, reported she was sexually assaulted by a man at the Alpha Epsilon Pi home, at 5625 S. University Ave., around 2 a.m. Sunday, Chicago police confirmed. The Independent.

Two of his friends told police that a group tried to stop them from entering the restroom after the men were seen “clapping and appearing to encourage the activity inside,” according to a police report obtained by police. Chicago Sun-Times.

The University of Chicago, one of the top universities in the United States, said The Independent that “a person of interest has been identified.” No arrests have been reported and the individual has not been publicly identified.

There has been a nationwide trial over sexual assault on college campuses after a civil suit was filed last month by Jane Doe alleging she was gang raped by seven fraternity members at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in October 2024.

According to the new Chicago police report, the woman and two friends attended a party at Alpha Epsilon Pi after seeing the event advertised on Instagram, on New York Times reported.

The three women were dancing in the basement of the fraternity house when the alleged victim began kissing a man. One of the friends, who spoke with the Timeslost track of them briefly, but then found a small group of men cheering outside a locked basement bathroom.

“They would say things like, ‘When is it my turn?’ and ‘I want to go,'” she said. According to the police report, the group told her it wasn’t her friend inside.

However, when she forced her way in by picking the lock on the door, she found her friend partially undressed and sprawled on the floor. The man had his hands on the alleged victim’s wrists, and she started saying “stop it” and “get me out of here,” the friend told the newspaper.

The police report states that when one of the woman’s friends told the man to let go of her, he “replied that everything was ‘cool,’ as if nothing had happened.”

The woman and her friends then confronted the man outside the fraternity and he said they “identified the wrong person.” He pointed them in another direction and fled, according to the report.

One of the friends tried to chase him, but ran into a police officer and reported the alleged assault, according to the report. The 21-year-old was later hospitalized, police confirmed. The Independent.

The woman is not a student at the University of Chicago, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment, but one of her friends told the newspaper she was “visibly shaken” and worried that her name would be released.

Chicago brownthe university’s student newspaper, published an article Tuesday describing a video shared on TikTok that appears to show the alleged perpetrator.

“He assaulted my friend in the bathroom at the fucking frat party. You record all the shit you want,” said an individual who identified himself as the alleged victim’s friend in the video, which was shared online. “I walked in there, you took off his clothes.”

In the video, the man can be heard responding: “She wanted it.”

Police said the man was 5 feet 7 inches tall and had curly hair. He was wearing a short-sleeved black shirt and black pants at the time of the alleged assault, according to the police report.

An alert from the University of Chicago says the suspect is not affiliated with the school. He was not named in the alert because he has not been charged with a crime.

“This identification was corroborated by statements from key witnesses and video evidence from university cameras and license plate readers, all of which were shared with (the Chicago Police Department) by the Department of Safety and Security,” the university alert states.

The university chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi said in a statement on Instagram that no one affiliated with the fraternity was “involved in or complicit in this incident.” The chapter says it is working with authorities.

The national chapter of the fraternity declared The Independent in a statement, “There is no evidence that members of the AEPi participated in this attack or were aware of it while it was taking place.”

The spokesperson said they did not believe the men “encouraging” the attack were part of the fraternity. They said fraternity members were fully cooperating with authorities.

Cornell’s lawsuit against Jane Doe alleges that she was drugged and gang-raped by seven members of the defunct Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, in October 2024. None of the men have been criminally charged. All have denied any wrongdoing.

Cornell announced this week that it has banned fraternity parties for the rest of the year.

Earlier this month, the Ivy League school appointed former deputy attorney general Sally Yates to lead an independent investigation into the school’s handling of sexual assault cases. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also appointed state Attorney General Letita James as special prosecutor in a criminal investigation.

After Doe reported the alleged rape in 2024, Cornell began an investigation that involved several hearings and resulted in the suspension and expulsion of some of the students involved. The Chi Phi fraternity was also closed.

“Any suggestion that the university did not impose meaningful sanctions on those involved is false,” the university said in a previous statement. “Continuing the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.” »