Investigation Underway Following Report of Sexual Assault at University of Chicago Fraternity Party

A young woman reported that she was raped at a party on Sunday in a fraternity house bathroom at the University of Chicago. The alleged sexual assault occurred at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house in Hyde Park, where a group of men reportedly cheered from outside the door during the incident. The woman, who is not a student at the university, attended the party with her friend Mia Lara after seeing a post about the gathering on the fraternity's Instagram. Lara stated that she and her friends were dancing when her friend disappeared with a man she had been kissing. When Lara searched for her friend, she found a group of men outside a locked bathroom door, reportedly saying, "I want to go in there," and, "When’s it my turn." Lara managed to break into the bathroom, where she found her friend in a vulnerable state, allegedly assaulted by a man who is also not a student. The woman reportedly cried out for help, saying, "Get me out of here," and, "Make it stop." After the incident, Lara confronted the man, who allegedly responded, "She wanted to." Chicago police confirmed that the woman went to the hospital for treatment and are investigating the allegations, with no arrests made as of Wednesday night. The university announced that it had banned the person of interest from campus. Jonathan Pierce, a spokesperson for the fraternity’s national organization, stated that the suspect is not a member of the chapter and emphasized that they do not believe any fraternity members were involved. The fraternity condemned the violence in a statement and indicated that they are cooperating with the investigation, offering support to the victim. They also mentioned that the chapter has been ordered to cease all events during the ongoing probe.