St Andrews ‘US fraternity’ members are accused of rape
A US-STYLE fraternity at St Andrews University has suspended a number of its members over allegations of more than a dozen rapes and sexual assaults.
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph found at least nine rape claims made against students in Alpha Epsilon Pi, a global fraternity with “chapters” in the US, Canada, Austria, Australia and Israel. The St Andrews chapter is made up of around 50 men.
In a July 3 statement, it said: “Earlier today, Alpha Epsilon Pi St Andrews was made aware of allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and rape against multiple members of our fraternity, including incidents at chapter events.
“We find the contents of these allegations abhorrent, and are taking them extremely seriously.”
The fraternity “immediately suspended members who acknowledged any role in the alleged incidents…”
It said it will work with the police, the university and any victims to ensure that justice can be served.
Police and the university have urged victims to come forward and vowed to take any perpetrators to court.
Women who spoke to The Telegraph say that the problem has been going on for years. “In their statement they said they had been unaware of the accusations, but I know concretely that they knew about them,” one victim said.
Other claims have come to light on an Instagram page set up last week for sexual assault survivors at the university. “On the first day … over 100 stories were submitted to us,” the administrator said. A dozen of those allegations were made against members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
A spokeswoman for St Andrews said: “The University’s primary concern is to ensure survivors know that we are ready and willing to support their decisions and take action, facilitate police reporting, and provide ongoing support accordingly.”
Yvonne Stenhouse, Police Scotland’s community inspector for North East Fife, told The Telegraph: “We are aware of these online reports and are working with the university.”
‘We find the contents of these allegations abhorrent, and are taking them extremely seriously’