BALTIMORE – An anonymous group of Johns Hopkins University students have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, claiming that the university mishandled an alleged rape at a fraternity party off campus.
In the federal complaint, the group, which is represented by advocacy group SurvJustice, claims that the university violated Clery Act and Title IX laws when it failed to inform the campus community of an alleged rape at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house in March 2013.
During the incident, the alleged victim, a Towson University student, told police that she had a series of consensual sexual encounters with three men, some of whom were Hopkins students, at a fraternity party. Later, one of the men forced her into non-consensual acts and two others joined in, The Baltimore Sun reports.
The complaint features an E-mail thread between Hopkins officials, as they debated whether the reported rape allegation was subject to the Clery Act’s timely warning requirement. In June 2013, a university administrator sent a message about the growing concerns over the school’s obligations under federal law.
The official included language to notify the community about the incident, but also noted that it could draw negative attention to the university.
School officials said they would immediately conduct an independent review on how the case was handled.
