A 19-year-old woman filed a lawsuit Monday alleging she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house near the University of Chicago in February, amid increased scrutiny of sexual misconduct on college campuses.
The student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging the sexual assault took place at an Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house party on Feb. 7. It names Alpha Delta Phi Inc. and the Chicago Society of Alpha Delta Phi as defendants.
“The grief this has taken on me is indescribable,” Doe told NBC News in an interview. “It’s the first thing I think about every time I wake up and the last thing I think about every time I go to sleep.”
Doe’s case comes weeks after a former Cornell University student claimed in a lawsuit that she was gang-raped at a fraternity party, sparking national outrage, and just days after a woman reported being sexually assaulted at a party hosted by another fraternity near the University of Chicago.
The University of Chicago, which does not recognize fraternities as official student organizations, said in a statement that it was “ready to assist Chicago police” in their investigation.
“These allegations are very concerning to the university community,” said university spokesman Gerald McSwiggan. “The University of Chicago is committed to combating and preventing incidents of sexual assault.”
Alpha Delta Phi’s national team said in a statement that it was aware of the allegations and “has suspended the member involved.”
“The conduct described is deeply disturbing and inconsistent with our values,” he said. “We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our members and communities and will cooperate with law enforcement as appropriate.”
The Chicago chapter of Alpha Delta Phi referred all inquiries to its national organization.
Doe — who is not a student at the University of Chicago — said she heard about the party on Instagram and has gone to parties at the fraternity house before. That evening, she said, she went to the party with several friends, none of whom were college students.
Doe said she was dancing with friends when a fraternity brother approached her. The fraternity brother offered her a photo, which she said immediately made her feel unsteady and dizzy, according to the lawsuit.
She said she only had two drinks before taking the photo, spaced about two hours apart. She described experiencing “pirouettes” and feeling like her “vision was underwater.”
“I know myself, and it wasn’t that intoxicated that I felt after the photo I took with him,” she said. “I’ve never felt like this before.”
She added that she watched the fraternity brother pour the shot and didn’t notice anything “strange.”
The fraternity member then ordered Doe to follow him to a secluded room on another floor of the fraternity house, according to the lawsuit. Doe expressed unsteadiness and dizziness, which the fraternity member ignored, according to the lawsuit.
The fraternity brother began making “unwanted and nonconsensual sexual advances” toward the woman, according to the lawsuit. She says she “lost all physical and verbal ability to refuse” the fraternity member’s alleged sexual advances.
“I remember leaning on the bed because I knew what was going to happen, but I didn’t feel strong enough to get out,” she told NBC News.
The lawsuit says that although her verbal skills were limited, she managed to beg the fraternity brother to wear a condom, which he refused to do. The fraternity brother then penetrated her “without her consent,” the lawsuit states.
After the alleged encounter, the man left Doe alone and unconscious, according to the suit. He alleges that other fraternity brothers initially blocked his friend from going upstairs to find her.
Her friend found her unconscious and helped her out of the house, according to the complaint. She said she vaguely remembered her shirt being on inside out when she woke up, but didn’t know how she got her clothes on.
She had difficulty speaking and walking as they escorted her out of the house, according to the lawsuit. Doe said she slept in her friend’s dorm room that night.
The next morning, Doe found blood stains on her underwear and went to the hospital, where she reported the incident to the Chicago Police Department, according to a police report. Doe told police she thought the alcohol was mixed with something, according to the report.
Police confirmed that a 19-year-old woman who reported a sexual assault at the fraternity house went to Illinois Masonic Hospital for treatment on February 8. Doe received a sexual assault evidence collection kit at the hospital, according to the police report.
A few days later, the woman was contacted by the University of Chicago Police Department, who she said was investigating her case. Doe said university police spoke to her for about 30 minutes on the phone, but she hasn’t heard from her since. The University Police Department refused to provide Doe with records related to her case without a subpoena, she claims in her lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the city police department said it was investigating the incident; the spokesperson did not respond to questions about the university police’s involvement in the matter.
Doe is seeking a jury trial and an amount in excess of $200,000, plus costs.
Doe’s attorney, Mike Grieco of the firm Gould Grieco & Hensley, said the goal was also to “ensure this doesn’t happen again and help reform” policies within the university.
The University of Chicago has been rocked in recent days by a separate allegation of sexual assault at a fraternity party near campus. A 21-year-old woman told police she was sexually assaulted this month at a party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house just off campus. Chicago police said no arrests had been made in either case.
“Ultimately, what happened to me is not unique, nor is it rare. It happens more often than people think,” Doe said. “There are so many other survivors suffering in silence. »
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