Utah State Univ., Sigma Chi chapter deny allegations in fraternity house rape lawsuit

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State University and the local Sigma Chi chapter have filed court documents denying allegations in a lawsuit pressed by a woman who said she was beaten and raped in the fraternity house.

The student, who was 19 when she was assaulted on July 11, 2015, at the Sigma Chi’s Gamma Kappa chapter house off campus, alleged in her U.S. District Court suit filed in November 2016 that the defendants failed to act on reports of heavy alcohol abuse and sexual assaults at two USU fraternity houses.

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Defendants include USU, the nonprofit Gamma Kappa Alumni Association and the chapter’s national charter organization, Illinois-based Sigma Chi, plus three senior USU officials. The woman, who has since transferred to another university, demands damages to be determined at trial.

The suit said USU officials confronted Sigma Chi officer Jason Relopez in November 2014 after a student reported the man had sexually assaulted her in her off-campus residence. One official warned Relopez he was “on our radar” and would be disciplined if the allegations were proven, the suit said.

Read more: http://www.standard.net/Courts/2017/01/13/USU-Gamma-Kappa-deny-allegations-in-fraternity-house-rape-lawsuit.html