A woman has filed a lawsuit against Alpha Delta Phi and the University of Chicago, alleging she was raped at a fraternity party in February and that the fraternity and the university were aware of years of sexual assault reports.
The law firm Gould, Grieco & Hensley announced the lawsuit, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Tuesday morning.
According to the complaint, the victim, identified only as Jane Doe, attended a party at the Alpha Delta Phi house in the 5700 block of South University Avenue on Feb. 7, 2026. According to the complaint, at the party Doe was given a shot of unidentified alcohol by one of the fraternity members and encouraged to drink it. The lawsuit says "almost immediately" after she drank the alcohol, she began to feel "unsteady and lightheaded."
At that point, according to the complaint, a frat brother coerced her upstairs to a bedroom, led her to a bed and sexually assaulted her. The complaint states Doe told him multiple times that she felt unsteady and lightheaded, but he ignored her. The complaint also says that while in the room, Doe "lost all physical and verbal ability to refuse" the frat member.
The complaint states Doe was raped while unable to consent or to verbally or physically refuse the man, but she did plead with him to wear a condom. According to the complaint, he refused.
After the assault, Jane Doe alleges the frat member left her in the room, and another frat brother blocked her friends from going upstairs to find her. The lawsuit alleges her friends were not allowed to go upstairs until her assailant told his frat brother that it was OK.
Doe alleges she was still unconscious when her friends found her, and she struggled to speak and walk as they helped her out of the house. She reported the assault to Chicago police the next morning when she discovered bloodstains in her underwear, according to the lawsuit.
Chicago police confirmed they received that report, and said Doe took herself to Illinois Masonic Hospital for treatment. They also confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
The lawsuit also alleges that in the days after the rape, University of Chicago Police reached out to Doe about the incident and created an incident report, but that UCPD has refused to provide her with a copy of any report or records related to her case without a subpoena.
According to the complaint, this chapter of Alpha Delta Phi has been investigated by police multiple times since 2009 for reports of sexual assaults, and alleges both the frat and the university were "aware of the danger of sexual assault by fraternity members on its on-campus fraternity housing."
Two sexual assaults were reported five days apart in January 2009, and CPD and University of Chicago Police also investigated a reported assault connected to the frat's weekly "Bar Night" gathering, in which the victim had to be taken by ambulance to the emergency room, according to the lawsuit. The complaint does not specify what kind of medical treatment was needed.
In September 2022, an anonymous post on the Instagram account @shareyourstoryuchicago described another sex assault at the Alpha Delta Phi house and asked for the frat to be put on probation, according to the complaint.
In these cases, the complaint alleges high-ranking officials with the fraternity put out statements that they were cooperating with police on investigations into the incidents, but reports continued. The lawsuit says between 2009 and 2026, the fraternity received more reports of sexual misconduct involving their members and social events, including through their own internal reporting processes.
Despite that, the lawsuit says the national Alpha Delta Phi organization did not impose any disciplinary actions against the University of Chicago chapters, did not restrict or place conditions on their social events, did not require the living quarters of the frat house be secured during social events, and did not require sober monitors be placed on the residential floors during parties.
Alpha Delta Phi's Chicago chapter is not currently listed as being on probation or under disciplinary status. CBS News Chicago has reached out to the University of Chicago and ADPhi for comment and is waiting to hear back.
Chicago police are currently investigating another report of a sexual assault at the Alpha Epsilon Phi frat house earlier in October. The two incidents are not connected. The investigation into the AEPhi assault is ongoing, but a person of interest has been identified, according to Chicago police.
