Police are investigating a 21-year-old woman’s report that she was sexually assaulted during a party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house near the University of Chicago campus early Sunday. University officials have identified a person of interest who is not affiliated with the institution and has been banned from campus. No one had been charged as of Wednesday, according to Associated Press news agency (AP).
The woman, who is not a university student, attended the party in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighbourhood with friends after seeing it advertised on the fraternity’s Instagram account. One of her friends, Mia Lara, told NOW that she found a group of men outside a locked bathroom door, making comments including “When’s it my turn?” and “I want to go in there.”
Lara told that she forced her way into the bathroom shortly before 2 am and found her friend on the floor, partially undressed, with a man holding her wrists. Her friend was shouting for the situation to stop and asking to be taken out of the bathroom, Lara said. When Lara later confronted the man outside the fraternity house, he allegedly responded, “She wanted to.”
The woman reported the alleged assault to police and went to a hospital for treatment. The university said the person of interest had been identified and barred from campus. The investigation remains ongoing.
Fraternity responds to allegations
Alpha Epsilon Pi’s University of Chicago chapter said in an Instagram statement that it was deeply disturbed by the reported assault and condemned the incident. The chapter said it became aware of the situation after one of its sober monitors was alerted by the woman’s friend. Members responded to assist her and shut down the party, according to the fraternity’s statement.
Jonathan Pierce, a spokesperson for the fraternity’s national organisation, said there was no evidence that members had participated in the alleged assault or knew it was taking place. He also told that members offered the woman food and water and lent her a shirt while she waited for emergency responders, as reported by The Guardian.
The national organisation said it was cooperating with university officials and local law enforcement and had directed the chapter to pause events during the investigation.
The University of Chicago said fraternities are not formally affiliated with the institution but remain subject to university policies and disciplinary procedures.
Cornell case brings renewed scrutiny
The Chicago incident comes amid public anger over allegations that seven members of Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted a former student in 2024. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in a civil lawsuit filed in September, alleged that she was repeatedly assaulted at a fraternity party. The men named in the lawsuit have denied wrongdoing, and no criminal charges had been filed.
Also Read: Cornell suspends fraternity parties, brings in state police amid scrutiny over 2024 rape allegations
Following the backlash, prosecutors reopened the investigation, while Cornell suspended fraternity parties and social events for the remainder of the 2026-27 academic year and announced plans to involve New York State Police in investigating campus sexual crime allegations.