HYDE PARK — Police are investigating after a woman said she was sexually assaulted while at a fraternity house party near the University of Chicago campus early Sunday.
The 21-year-old woman told authorities she was at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house in the 5600 block of South University Avenue when, just before 2 a.m. Sunday, she was sexually assaulted by a man she didn’t know, according to Chicago police and a University of Chicago crime log.
The university said in a campus alert that another person intervened to stop the assault and that the attacker then fled the frat house. Security footage captured the fleeing person, described as standing 5-foot-7 with a dark complexion with curly hair on top and shorter hair on the sides, the news station reported.
The woman, who is not affiliated with the university, was taken to University of Chicago Hospital, police and UChicago said. Chicago police detectives are handling the investigation with an assist from campus police, both agencies confirmed.
Fraternities are not affiliated with UChicago but their members must adhere to the university’s code of conduct, the institution wrote in its campus alert.
“This is deeply concerning for the University community,” university administrators wrote in the campus alert. “The safety and well-being of our students and all who come to our community is our highest priority.”
A spokesperson for Alpha Epsilon Pi’s headquarters said the group is cooperating with the investigation and that the chapter has been told not to hold any events or programs during the investigation.
“Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity unconditionally opposes, and its conditions of membership absolutely prohibit, any conduct considered as ‘sexual harassment or ‘sexual assault,’” the group said in a statement. “While this inquiry is at its outset, we will refrain from jumping to any conclusion until the investigation is complete and urge others – including those in the media — to do the same.
“Most importantly, all of AEPi hurts for the person who was the victim in this incident. No one should attend an event on any campus – fraternity-based or otherwise – and have to fear for their safety and wellbeing,” the statement reads.
The issue of sexual assault tied to college fraternities has exploded recently as outcry spreads over the handling of accusations of a gang rape at a Cornell University frat house in 2024.
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