USC fraternity suspended after alleged sex assault during party

A University of Southern California fraternity has been temporarily suspended as Los Angeles police investigate allegations that a female student and possibly others were sexually assaulted at the Lambda Chi Alpha house during a rowdy party this week.

USC officials said three women had come forward reporting assaults at Lambda Chi Alpha early Wednesday and a campus crime alert was issued. But LAPD detectives said they have talked to only one victim and were hoping any others would come forward and assist them in their investigation.

A 19-year-old student went to a mixer at the fraternity Tuesday night, said Capt. Denis Cremins of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery and Homicide Division. She drank punch that officials suspect contained “an unknown intoxicant” and blacked out, he said.

“She had a couple of drinks, and then she passed out,” Cremins said. “And that begs the question whether something was in those drinks.”

The student apparently woke several hours later, partly unclothed and inside the house. She first reported the incident to university officials late Wednesday and then told LAPD rape investigators she believed she had been sexually assaulted. She sought medical treatment, and police are running toxicology tests.

Lambda Chi’s webpage showed that the fraternity is holding its annual charity this week known as “Watermelon BUST.” A related Facebook page listed a “watermelon carving contest” for Tuesday night.

During a search at the fraternity Wednesday night, investigators said they found remnants of watermelon at the property and described the house as “a wreck.”

Lambda Chi is on “interim suspension” until the investigation is completed, said Michael L. Jackson, USC vice president of student affairs.

“USC takes sexual assaults very seriously and is fully cooperating with the LAPD on the investigation,” he said. “We are reaching out to the students and providing as much help as possible. We are also conducting our own investigation into student conduct issues.”

On Thursday, television news trucks and reporters camped out in front of Lambda Chi’s boxy, gray-white stucco house in an area north of campus known as “The Row,” home to many fraternities and sororities.

While bare-chested men down the block played beer pong, everything was quiet at Lambda Chi. The only sign of any party in the days before was a broken red plastic cup on the sidewalk.

Cameron Kay, president of the USC chapter of Lambda Chi, declined to comment.

Blessing Waung, president of the university’s Panhellenic Council, said she believed crimes like those alleged are rare in the Greek community. She was worried that people would focus more on sexual assaults than on the good things that fraternity and sorority members do, such as community service.

“It’s a shame that this occurred because one incident can break the trust of everyone,” she said.

Waung said sororities and fraternities require members to take rape awareness classes. But she hoped this incident could be a catalyst for more preventive education.

Kate Buckley, 22, a senior at USC, said she hadn’t heard of other sexual assaults at fraternities but that she doesn’t take drinks from people she doesn’t know. She said it would be easier at a fraternity than at a bar for someone to spike her drink.

“Your friend could do it to you,” Buckley said. “You don’t know.”

This week’s alleged incident comes after two sexual assaults in 2008, university officials said. The assaults occurred in September north of campus, but not at “The Row.” In one case, an assailant grabbed a woman from behind as she was walking. In the other, the attacker walked the victim to her apartment and sexually assaulted her inside.

Rachel Tobias, 20, a sophomore, said such incidents underscore that USC students are often not thinking about their own safety. Tobias said she was more aware of her surroundings these days.

“My dad always says it and it’s true,” Tobias said: “Nothing really good does happen after midnight.”

--

joanna.lin@latimes.com

jia-rui.chong@latimes.com

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.