5 More Sexual Assaults Reported At UC Berkeley Fraternity; 9 Incidents Reported Around Campus In A Month
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- Five people were reportedly sexually assaulted at a fraternity house near the University of California at Berkeley last weekend, campus police said. These latest allegations make for a total of nine reports of sexual assault on or near the campus within the last month.
The latest alleged assaults were reported at Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house in the 2300 block of Piedmont Avenue near Bancroft Way, west of California Memorial Stadium, sometime between last Friday and Sunday.
A Campus Security Authority was alerted by a third party of the reported assaults in which five people were given a date rape drug commonly known as "roofies" before they were assaulted, UC Police Lt. Eric Tejada said.
The Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter is not recognized by UC Berkeley, according to UC police.
Last weekend's reports were a chilling reminder for UC Berkeley sophomore Natalie Smith.
"You have to remember to keep your cup in your sight the whole time. Just knowing that makes me feel not safe, because I know that the moment I take my eyes off my drink or my friend's drinks or anything like that, there's risk for being drugged," she said.
Meanwhile, another reported case of sexual assault at a UC Berkeley fraternity involves a member of Theta Delta Chi, who reported to police that he was sexually assaulted by a fellow member and that there may be other victims. UC Berkeley police have released few details about that case.
The alleged assaults come after the arrest earlier this month of a 20-year-old who was suspected of assaulting a female at a fraternity in the 2400 block of Warring Street on September 27th, although prosecutors dropped those charges on Friday.
A spokeswoman for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office said investigators concluded that the man did not commit sexual assault.
He had been accused of raping a woman who could not consent to sex because she had been drugged at Cal's Delta Upsilon fraternity.
There were two other sexual assaults reported Sept. 27th, but Berkeley police have not released further information about those incidents.
A report was released at the beginning of October that suggested campus sexual assaults at UC Berkeley rose by nearly 50 percent last year.
Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed the "Yes Means Yes" bill requiring that sexual partners on college campuses give "affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement" to sex.
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