University of Minnesota Student Under Investigation for Raping New Fraternity Member

Police are investigating the reported rape of a University of Minnesota student by a classmate who used his position as a fraternity member to coerce the victim into a sexual act.

The victim, who was pledging Alpha Epsilon Pi at the time of the assault, told police that he was raped by one of the fraternity’s members on Jan. 29 at the Marshall Apartments, an off-campus student housing complex in Dinkytown. The victim later went to a nearby hospital, where he underwent a rape exam, according to a search warrant affidavit.

What started out as consensual encounter between the two men swiftly took a frightening turn, the victim told police, according to court filings.

The suspect reportedly also “threatened to document the sexual encounter,” the filings said, “by photos and video that he could use to blackmail [the victim] into silence about the assault.” It was unclear whether the suspect actually filmed or photographed the encounter.

He also told the victim that he would use his stature within the organization to keep the other man from joining the fraternity unless he did as he was told. He later sent the victim a threatening message on the popular messaging app Snapchat, warning him not to tell other fraternity members about the incident, authorities said.

The suspect, a first-year student who has since been suspended from the fraternity, has not been charged, which is why the Star Tribune is not naming him.

The investigation is continuing. Messages left with a fraternity representative were not immediately returned.

SOURCE: Libor Jany
Star Tribune