Woman chases man she believes sexually assaulted her friend at a University of Chicago fraternity party

EDITOR’S NOTE: Help is available: For help in the US, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or chat 24/7 on online.rainn.org .

Mia Lara’s first fraternity party ended with her chasing the man, who she believes sexually assaulted her friend, through the streets of Chicago.

The alleged sexual assault was reported last weekend at a fraternity house and is under investigation by the University of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department.

No suspects are in custody and police have not made any arrests, but the university said a person of interest has been identified. The man is not a University of Chicago student and has been banned from the campus, the university said .

Lara, 21, told CNN she arrived at an off-campus party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house with four friends around 11 p.m. on Saturday. Her two male friends were turned away at the door, leaving Lara and her two female friends to enter without them.

Lara said she and her friends do not attend the University of Chicago and did not know anyone at the party, which was advertised online, according to Lara. Around 1 a.m., four men approached her group and began dancing with them, she said.

One of the men, who Lara alleges later sexually assaulted her friend, appeared to zero in on her friend, Lara told CNN. The two started dancing and the man asked Lara’s friend to go up to his room.

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Chicago police investigating reported sexual assault at University of Chicago fraternity house

The University of Chicago’s chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi said , “to the best of our knowledge, no one affiliated with AEPi was involved or complicit with this incident.”

“We condemn this violence unequivocally. Our concern is first and foremost for the person harmed, whose privacy and dignity we ask everyone to respect.”

The fraternity also said its members are continuing to work with authorities and provide any additional information as the investigation continues.

The university said fraternities are not formally affiliated with the University of Chicago, but student members “are subject to University policies and disciplinary procedures.”

Lara said her friend rejected the man’s advances to go upstairs, citing the 2024 alleged gang rape at Cornell.

“She was like, ‘No, I don’t want to, like you guys know what happened with the Cornell thing, I don’t want to be alone in any rooms,’” Lara said her friend said. The men responded they would never do anything like that, according to Lara.

Shortly after, Lara said her friend was kissing the man near a wall before the pair disappeared. She started searching for her friend and later found his friends outside a bathroom in the basement, but the man and her friend were not with them.

The man’s friends told Lara to look upstairs, so she and her other friend checked there, on the porch and outside, before returning to the basement bathroom.

When they returned, Lara said she saw the man’s friends “banging on the door,” “cheering,” and saying, “they want to get in there.”

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Stopping men from raping women starts long before they’re adults

A police report obtained by CNN affiliate WLS said the woman’s friends “reported seeing ‘approximately three to five males standing outside the bathroom door cheering and appearing to encourage the activity inside.’”

At this point, the group of men told Lara that their friend and her friend were inside the bathroom, she told CNN.

One of the men allegedly grabbed Lara’s other friend, told her not to worry and that the two were “having fun” in the bathroom, Lara said.

Though the door was locked, Lara said she found a way to shimmy it open and broke into the bathroom. She said she immediately told the man he needed to get off her friend and leave, but the man initially refused to leave.

Her friend was slumped on the bathroom floor, partially clothed, saying “get me out of here” and “I don’t want to be here,” Lara said, adding she had never seen her friend in that state before.

One of the victim’s friends told detectives that the “woman was not fully conscious, and the alleged attacker was standing over her partially undressed,” according to WLS.

The man began to approach Lara and the other friend, so Lara said she started kicking his legs until his friends eventually pulled him out of the bathroom. Lara was then able to help her friend get dressed and helped her out of the party.

When they got outside of the fraternity house, Lara said her friends went to sit on the sidewalk. She noticed the same group of men pointing and laughing at the woman who said she was assaulted, Lara said.

“I point at the guy, and I’m like, ‘You’re the one that was in the bathroom with her.’ I was like, ‘What did you do to her?’” Lara said.

The group claimed Lara got the wrong guy, but Lara said she recognized the man from seeing him in the bathroom.

The men then point in the direction of the fraternity house and say the man she’s looking for was trying to get back into the party. When Lara looks in the direction of the fraternity house, she says the men took off running, and so she took off after them.

Woman reports sexual assault at fraternity party near UChicago

At one point, the men slow down and start laughing at Lara, and one of them takes out his phone and starts recording her, she told CNN.

The video of the encounter was widely viewed and shared online. CNN has reached out to Chicago police and the University of Chicago for comment about the video, but did not immediately hear back.

The video shows Lara following a man while yelling at the camera, “He f**king assaulted my friend in the bathroom of a f**king frat party, you can record all the s**t you want.”

“I walk in there, you f**king took her clothes off,” Lara said in the video, to which the man responded, “She wanted to.”

CNN cannot confirm the man in the video is the accused perpetrator.

In an earlier alert , the university said witnesses described the suspect as a “5’7” 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.” It’s not yet clear whether the person of interest in the case matches that description.

Lara said a campus police officer witnessed her chasing the man and asked her what happened.

She said she took the officer back to her friend to get her help.

The friend would later tell Lara she remembered there were two men in the bathroom at one point, one of whom “was pinning her down” and sexually assaulted her, Lara told CNN.

The victim went to the University of Chicago Hospital for treatment, Chicago police said.

At the hospital, medical staff swabbed bruises on her friend for evidence, according to Lara.

The University of Chicago’s chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi said it became aware of the situation when the victim’s friend called over one of the fraternity’s “sober monitors,” and “we immediately responded and multiple members of the fraternity, including our risk manager, arrived at the scene, providing assistance to the victim.” The statement added a member stayed with her until the authorities arrived.

The Chicago Police Department is leading the investigation, with support from the University of Chicago Police Department, according to the university.

The University of Chicago called the reported assault “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. Many people at the University are working to support the victim and assist CPD in its response,” the university said.

Lara said her friend is doing “as best she can.”

“I was just like incredibly angry,” Lara said about that night. “And mad he got away.”

CNN’s Whitney Wild, Julianna Bragg and Emma Tucker contributed to this report.

编者注：可获得帮助：在美国，如需帮助，请拨打全国性侵犯热线 1-800-656-4673 或访问 online.rainn.org 进行 24/7 全天候聊天。

米娅·拉拉的第一次兄弟会派对以她在芝加哥街头追赶她认为性侵了她朋友的男子而告终。

据称，上周末在一家兄弟会宿舍发生了一起性侵事件，目前芝加哥大学和芝加哥警察局正在对此进行调查。

目前尚无嫌疑人被拘留，警方也未逮捕任何人，但校方表示已锁定一名相关人员。校方称，该男子并非芝加哥大学学生，已被禁止进入校园。

21岁的拉拉告诉CNN，周六晚上11点左右，她和四个朋友一起来到位于Alpha Epsilon Pi兄弟会宿舍外的一个派对。她的两个男性朋友被拒之门外，只剩下拉拉和她的两个女性朋友独自进入。

拉拉说，她和朋友们并非芝加哥大学的学生，也不认识派对上的任何人。据拉拉说，这场派对是通过网络广告宣传的。凌晨1点左右，四个男人走近她们，开始和她们跳舞。

拉拉告诉CNN，其中一名男子（拉拉称他后来性侵了她的朋友）似乎对她的朋友格外关注。两人开始跳舞，那名男子邀请拉拉的朋友去他的房间。

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

芝加哥警方正在调查芝加哥大学兄弟会宿舍发生的一起性侵案。

芝加哥大学 Alpha Epsilon Pi 分会表示，“据我们所知，AEPi 的任何成员都没有参与或与此事件有任何关联。”

“我们毫不含糊地谴责这种暴力行为。我们首先关注的是受害者，我们请求所有人尊重他们的隐私和尊严。”

该兄弟会还表示，其成员将继续与当局合作，并在调查继续进行的过程中提供任何其他信息。

芝加哥大学表示，兄弟会与芝加哥大学没有正式的隶属关系，但学生成员“须遵守大学的政策和纪律程序”。

Lara 说，她的朋友拒绝了该男子上楼的示好，并提到了 2024 年康奈尔大学发生的一起涉嫌轮奸案。

“她当时说，‘不，我不想，你们也知道康奈尔那件事，我不想单独待在任何房间里，’”拉拉转述她朋友的话说。据拉拉说，那些男人回应说他们绝不会做那种事。

不久之后，拉拉说她的朋友在墙边和那个男人接吻，然后两人就消失了。她开始寻找她的朋友，后来在地下室的浴室外找到了他的朋友，但那个男人和她的朋友都不在他们身边。

男子的朋友告诉拉拉上楼看看，于是她和另一个朋友先到楼上、门廊和外面查看了一番，然后才回到地下室的浴室。

拉拉说，当他们返回时，她看到那名男子的朋友们“敲着门”、“欢呼雀跃”，并说“他们想进去”。

德扬·马贾诺维奇/E+/盖蒂图片社

阻止男性强奸女性的行为，应该从他们成年之前就开始。

CNN附属电视台WLS获得的一份警方报告称，该女子的朋友“报告说，看到‘大约三到五名男子站在浴室门外欢呼，似乎在鼓励里面的活动’”。

这时，这群男人告诉拉拉，他们的朋友和她的朋友在浴室里，拉拉告诉 CNN。

据拉拉称，其中一名男子抓住了拉拉的另一位朋友，告诉她不要担心，两人正在浴室里“玩得很开心”。

虽然门锁着，但拉拉说她想办法撬开了门，闯进了浴室。她说她立刻告诉那个男人，他必须从她朋友身上下来并离开，但那个男人一开始拒绝离开。

拉拉说，她的朋友瘫倒在浴室地板上，衣衫不整，嘴里说着“带我离开这里”和“我不想待在这里”，她还补充说，她以前从未见过她的朋友是这种状态。

据 WLS 报道，受害者的一位朋友告诉侦探，“这名女子当时意识不清，而据称的袭击者站在她上方，衣衫不整”。

那名男子开始靠近拉拉和她的另一个朋友，于是拉拉说她开始踢他的腿，直到他的朋友们最终把他从洗手间拉了出来。之后，拉拉帮她的朋友穿好衣服，并扶她离开了派对。

拉拉说，她们走出兄弟会会所后，她的朋友们走到人行道上坐下。她注意到，还是那群男人指着那个说自己遭到袭击的女人，还嘲笑她。

“我指着那个人说，‘你就是和她一起待在浴室里的那个人。’我问他，‘你对她做了什么？’”拉拉说道。

该团伙声称拉拉认错了人，但拉拉说她在洗手间见过这个人，认出了他。

随后，那几个男人指着兄弟会会所的方向说，她要找的那个人正试图回到派对里。拉拉看向兄弟会会所的方向，然后那几个男人就拔腿就跑，于是她也追了上去。

一名女子报案称在芝加哥大学附近的一个兄弟会派对上遭到性侵

据 CNN 报道，拉拉说，有一次，几个男人放慢了脚步，开始嘲笑她，其中一个男人还拿出手机开始录像。

这段冲突视频在网上被广泛观看和分享。CNN已联系芝加哥警方和芝加哥大学就此事发表评论，但尚未收到回复。

视频显示，拉拉一边跟着一名男子，一边对着镜头大喊：“他他妈的在兄弟会派对的洗手间里袭击了我的朋友，你们想录多少就录多少。”

“我走进去，你他妈的把她的衣服脱了，”拉拉在视频中说道，男子回应道：“她自己想脱的。”

CNN无法确认视频中的男子是否为被指控的犯罪嫌疑人。

此前，该大学发布警报称，目击者描述嫌疑人为一名身高5英尺7英寸（约1.7米）的南亚裔男子，肤色较深，两侧头发较短，头顶头发较长且呈卷曲状，身穿黑色T恤、黑色运动裤和白色鞋子。目前尚不清楚此案的嫌疑人是否符合上述描述。

拉拉说，一名校园警察目睹了她追赶那名男子，并询问她发生了什么事。

她说她把那名警官带回她朋友那里寻求帮助。

拉拉告诉 CNN，这位朋友后来告诉拉拉，她记得当时浴室里有两个男人，其中一个“把她按倒在地”并对她进行了性侵犯。

芝加哥警方称，受害者已前往芝加哥大学医院接受治疗。

据拉拉称，在医院里，医务人员对她朋友身上的瘀伤进行了拭子取样，以寻找证据。

芝加哥大学Alpha Epsilon Pi兄弟会表示，受害者的朋友打电话给兄弟会的“清醒监督员”后，他们才得知此事。“我们立即做出反应，包括风险经理在内的多名兄弟会成员赶到现场，为受害者提供帮助。”声明还补充说，一名成员一直陪伴在受害者身边，直到警方赶到。

据芝加哥大学称，芝加哥警察局正在主导调查，芝加哥大学警察局也提供了支持。

芝加哥大学称这起报道中的袭击事件“令大学社区深感担忧”。

“我们最重视的是学生以及所有来到我们社区的人的安全和福祉。大学里许多人都在努力为受害者提供支持，并协助芝加哥警察局进行调查，”大学方面表示。

拉拉说她的朋友正在“尽力而为”。

“我当时真是气疯了，”拉拉回忆起那天晚上时说，“我气他竟然逃脱了。”

CNN的惠特尼·怀尔德、朱莉安娜·布拉格和艾玛·塔克对本报道亦有贡献。