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A person of interest has been identified after a 21-year-old woman told police that she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity party near the University of Chicago last weekend, amid national outrage over sexual misconduct on college campuses.
Neither the woman nor the person of interest is a student, according to the university. It said it was “not at liberty to disclose” his name, but that he has been banned from the campus.
The University of Chicago said in a series of news releases this week that the woman told police the incident occurred at a party held at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house, just off campus. She made the report early Sunday, the university said.
The New York Times interviewed Mia Lara, a 21-year-old student at a nearby university, who said she witnessed her friend sitting on the floor slumped against the wall, with her clothes and undergarments pulled down. She told the Times her friend began saying, “Make it stop” and “Get me out of here.” Lara told the Times she began screaming and the man fled.
Lara chased the man in a video that has gone viral on TikTok this week, in which she accuses him of assaulting her friend in the bathroom at the fraternity party.
“She wanted to,” the man replies as he runs off.
The school said in a statement: “This is deeply concerning for the University community. The safety and well-being of our students and all who come to our community is our highest priority.”
The Chicago Police Department said no arrests have been made and that no further information was available.
The university said the woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center and that university police immediately contacted the Chicago Police Department.
The university noted that fraternities are not “Recognized Student Organizations” at UChicago and therefore have no formal affiliation with the school. It added that “all University students are subject to University policies and disciplinary procedures” and that it “remains committed to addressing sexual misconduct cases.”
In a statement Tuesday, Alpha Epsilon Pi’s Lambda chapter said the “perpetrator” was chased out of the house and that members are cooperating with authorities. The chapter said it learned of the “situation” from one of the party’s “sober monitors,” and that members immediately helped the woman.
“A member stayed with the victim until the necessary authorities arrived, only leaving after the police had asked him to do so,” the fraternity said. “The party was shut down immediately following our notice of the events.”
“We will continue to support the investigation to the fullest extent and offer our support in any way possible,” the fraternity added.
The Chicago Sun-Times, citing a police report, reported Tuesday that several men at the party blocked the woman’s friends from entering a bathroom, where she was found “not fully conscious” or clothed. The newspaper added that at least one of the men got into a physical altercation with one of the woman’s friends, according to the report.
NBC News has not independently obtained the report. The Chicago Police Department declined to provide a copy.
The fraternity’s national organization said in a statement that its members have a “responsibility to protect each other, our guests, and our community at all times.”
University of Chicago student Alexa Walsh told NBC Chicago she hopes the university and fraternity take the allegation “seriously.”
“To hear that a woman came to our campus just trying to have some fun and was sexually assaulted is very, very upsetting,” she said.
The UChicago allegation comes amid national furor over a former Cornell University student’s allegation that she was gang-raped at an off-campus fraternity house in 2024. The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the university; the fraternity, Chi Phi; her sorority, Tri Delta; and seven former Chi Phi members last month.
After facing weeks of sharp criticism, Cornell said Tuesday it is suspending all “parties and social events” at fraternity houses for the rest of the academic year.
I’m a reporter on NBC News’ breaking news team, covering crime, extreme weather, pop culture and more. I recently covered Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa, Florida, metropolitan area, and the student-led protests at Columbia University.
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