A 21-year-old woman said in a UNM police report that she was raped while at a bachelor party at the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house, which has led to the emergency suspension of the fraternity and one of its members.
According to the June 28 report, the woman says a man who was at the party raped her in one of Lambda Chi Alpha rooms, which is at 1815 Sigma Chi Rd. She said the man, named Allen, ordered her to have sex with him and she refused, but then Allen raped her. She said she began crying and yelling until someone came into the room and pulled Allen off her.
The report stated that the woman told police she and another woman were invited to the house as entertainment for the party. She said they performed sexual acts on each other for the men at the party. She also said she had consensual sex with two other men before the rape occurred.
Randy Boeglin, UNM’s dean of students, said the University had sufficient grounds to suspend the fraternity based on the police report. Boeglin said two non-University students were banned from campus and one student, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, was placed on emergency suspension. He added that neither the fraternity nor the three men have appealed the University’s decision.
Boeglin said UNM has worked with the Greek system to institute protocol for holding parties, which has gone a long way toward making them safer. However, he said some issues may need to be revisited.
“Every member has to think about how their behavior has an effect on themselves and on the campus community,” Boeglin said. “These incidents tell me some work still needs to be done.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM police Lt. Mike Omtvedt said the investigation into the incident should be complete within a week and will be referred to the Bernalillo County district attorney’s office.
Omtvedt said women need to be aware of their surroundings and not put themselves in situations where they increase the possibility of harm for themselves or their friends. He also said they need to be careful who they associate with and what parties they attend.
