Second Sexual Assault Allegation Emerges Against UChicago Fraternity

Just a few days after a former student reported being assaulted at an Alpha Delta Phi gathering, another woman stepped forward with a harrowing story of her own. The fresh lawsuit, filed by the firm Gould Grieco & Hensley, paints a picture that is all too familiar: a party, too much alcohol, and a tragic failure of oversight.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff – identified only as Jane Doe, a 19‑year‑old who attends a college elsewhere in Chicago – arrived at the Alpha Delta Phi house on February 7. She was greeted at the door by a fraternity brother who, the filing says, offered her a shot without checking her ID or sobriety. Within minutes she felt “unsteady and light‑headed,” a symptom that the suit says should have raised alarms.

Instead of steering her away from the drinks, the brother allegedly escorted her upstairs to a bedroom on the residential floor – an area that, per fraternity rules, is off‑limits to guests. Witnesses claim no one tried to stop him, and the complaint notes that other members actually blocked a friend who tried to follow Jane up the stairs.

Once inside the room, the plaintiff alleges she lost the ability to speak or move, rendering her helpless. Despite pleading for a condom, the accused brother reportedly refused, and the assault continued until he left her unconscious on the floor.

When Jane’s friend finally reached the bedroom, she found her companion barely conscious, blood‑stained underwear and all. The friend’s attempts to move her were again thwarted by fraternity members who claimed the residential floor was off‑limits to non‑residents. It took several more minutes before anyone allowed them to exit the room.

Jane reported the incident to Chicago police the next day. University of Chicago police logged an incident report, but, according to the lawsuit, they refused to share any records unless a subpoena was presented – a move that the plaintiff’s counsel describes as “obstructive.”

The suit doesn’t stop at the night of the assault. It argues that Alpha Delta Phi’s Chicago chapter has known about safety problems at the house for more than a decade. Police investigations dating back to 2009 have repeatedly flagged the residence for sexual‑violence concerns, including two assaults reported just five days apart at the same address, 5747 S. University Ave.

Attorney Michael Grieco, representing Jane, says the fraternity was handed a “Sexual Violence Chapter Toolkit” – complete with a consent‑discussion guide and pamphlets urging members that “rape and sexual assault are never the victim’s fault.” Yet the toolkit, he argues, never translated into real change on the ground.

“Alpha Delta Phi has been on notice since 2009,” Grieco said in a press release. “Report after report, investigation after investigation – and yet a young woman was still raped this year. The national organization must answer whether it ever acted on those warnings, or simply let the house continue as it was.”

The allegations arrive amid a broader wave of campus‑wide scrutiny. Earlier this month, an Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity near the University of Chicago faced a police report describing 30 members cheering as a 20‑year‑old was assaulted. And last month, a separate lawsuit alleged a Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University had allowed a drug‑spiked gang rape to happen.

All of these cases are feeding a growing conversation about how universities, national fraternities, and local law enforcement can better protect students – and hold those who fail to act accountable.