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Chicago police are investigating a report of sexual assault that occurred at a fraternity house near the University of Chicago campus early Sunday morning. A 21-year-old woman reported she was assaulted during a party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house in the Hyde Park neighborhood around 1:50 a.m., according to CNN.
The woman, who is not a University of Chicago student, was allegedly assaulted in a bathroom during the party. According to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, two of her friends said a group of men were "cheering and appearing to encourage the activity inside." Someone intervened during the assault, and the suspect fled the scene, the university said.
The University of Chicago announced Tuesday that a person of interest has been identified and banned from campus. School officials said the identification was corroborated by key witness statements and video evidence from university cameras and license plate readers, which ABC7 reports was shared with Chicago police. The person of interest is not a student or otherwise affiliated with the university, officials confirmed.
Because no charges have been filed, school officials have not publicly identified the person of interest. As of Tuesday afternoon, Chicago police reported no one was in custody.
In an earlier community alert, the university described the suspect as a 5-foot-7 South Asian male with dark complexion, short hair on the sides and longer curly hair on top, wearing a black t-shirt, black jogging pants and white shoes. An initial review of security camera footage showed an individual fitting that description running from the fraternity house.
The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital for treatment, Chicago police said.
The Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter has been told not to hold events or programs while the investigation continues, according to ABC7 Chicago. In a statement, the local chapter said "to the best of our knowledge, no one affiliated with AEPi was involved or complicit with this incident."
"We condemn this violence unequivocally," the fraternity chapter stated. "Our concern is first and foremost for the person harmed, whose privacy and dignity we ask everyone to respect."
The reported assault comes during a period of heightened scrutiny over how colleges and universities handle sexual assault cases, following the investigation into an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house at Cornell University in 2024.
The University of Chicago called the reported assault "deeply concerning for the University community." While fraternities are not recognized student organizations at the university and have no formal affiliation, all university students are subject to university policies and disciplinary procedures, officials said.
The Alpha Epsilon Pi national fraternity said in a statement it "unconditionally opposes, and its conditions of membership absolutely prohibit, any conduct considered as 'sexual harassment' or 'sexual assault,' including repeated propositioning, coercive pressure, unwanted touching and physical violence."
The Chicago Police Department is leading the investigation with support from the University of Chicago Police Department.