The University of South Florida in Tampa has temporarily suspended its chapter of Pi Kappa Phi after a 16-year-old girl reported that she was raped while unconscious in the fraternity’s house.
According to reports, the girl was not a student at the university but was visiting the campus and attended the fraternity party on Saturday night. Campus police said that the alleged sexual assault took place early Sunday morning and that they were alerted to the attack after it was reported by a nearby hospital. A suspect, 19-year-old Dillon LaGamma, was arrested late on Sunday afternoon. The Tampa Bay Times reports that LaGamma confirmed to the police that he had sex with the 16-year-old. He was charged with sexual battery on a child over 12 and released on bail on Monday.
In a statement issued by the national Pi Kappa Phi office, the fraternity CEO said that they had temporarily suspended USF’s chapter and instructed the fraternity to work with campus administration. The university is also investigating the fraternity for potential student conduct violations.
Pi Kappa Phi’s CEO has issued many such statements in the recent past. In early August, a rape was reported at the fraternity’s Purdue University chapter. Last year, North Carolina State University’s chapter was handed a three-year suspension after a notebook it kept filled with jokes about rape and lynching was found by restaurant workers. None of these incidents, according to the fraternity’s CEO, were in keeping with its values.
