Lawsuit Accuses Alpha Delta Phi Members of Blocking Door During Rape
A 19-year-old woman was allegedly drugged, raped, and left unconscious in an upstairs bedroom on Feb. 7 at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house near the University of Chicago, according to a lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The civil complaint, brought against both the local chapter and its national organization, states that fraternity members guarded the staircase to prevent the victim’s friend from checking on her while the assault occurred inside. chicagotribune.com reported that the woman, identified as Jane Doe, awoke the next morning in someone else’s dorm room with blood in her underwear and reported the incident to the Chicago Police Department on Feb. 8.
Fraternity Suspends Member as Police and University Investigate
The lawsuit identifies the alleged assailant as Kevin Shim, though he is not named as a defendant in the litigation and has not been charged with a crime, according to chicago.suntimes.com. Steve Ehrfurth, a spokesperson for Alpha Delta Phi’s national organization, stated that Shim has been suspended from the fraternity and that the organization will cooperate with law enforcement.
The conduct described is deeply troubling and inconsistent with our values,
spokesperson Steve Ehrfurth said in a statement. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our members and communities and will cooperate with law enforcement as appropriate.
People walk past the Alpha Delta Phi house on Tuesday.
Second Hyde Park Fraternity Scandal Prompts National Scrutiny
The allegations at Alpha Delta Phi mark the second consecutive week of sexual assault reports involving fraternities near the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus. The first incident involved a party at an Alpha Epsilon Pi house, where members allegedly blocked a woman’s friends from getting to a bedroom while she was assaulted inside, according to reports. These local cases follow a high-profile lawsuit filed last month at Cornell University accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexual assault, drawing intense national attention to campus safety and fraternity accountability.
Students Push for Accountability as Institutional Answers Remain Unclear
A university spokesperson called the allegations disturbing
and stated the university is cooperating with the Chicago Police Department. Attorney Michael Grieco, who represents Jane Doe, stated that the lawsuit aims to address systemic institutional failures, noting that university police have refused to release investigative records without a subpoena.
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