A 21 year-old Penn student was sexually assaulted during a Chi Omega crushing party early Thursday morning, according to police.
Philadelphia Police Sgt. Jim Pauley said the incident took place at about 1 a.m. March 30 in an alleyway near Fiso Lounge, located at 1437 South St. The Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit is conducting the investigation.
Pauley, however, added that students should not be concerned.
"Based on the information we have, we believe that this is not a random or a stalker-type incident," he said.
According to a KYW news report, the Penn student was leaving the party when she turned around and went back to grab her coat. A man approached the student and offered to help her but ended up sexually assaulting her in the bar's backyard. The student was taken to a nearby hospital and later released.
A freshman Chi Omega member who preferred to remain anonymous said that the party started at 10 a.m. March 29 and was over by 2 a.m. the next morning. She said that an e-mail notifying all Chi Omega members of an emergency meeting was sent out to the sorority's listserv following the incident. The meeting took place 8:30 p.m. at Chi Omega, located on 3926 Spruce St., last night.
Several Chi Omega sorority members declined to comment.
Fiso manager Tracy Brennan said the attack seemly highly perplexing since the bar has seen no footage of the incident recorded on surveillance cameras surveying Fiso's backyard, where the incident took place.
According to Brennan, 150 students attended the event. The bar was booked solely for the sorority event, and to her knowledge, no community residents were present.
"I'm actually pretty confused," she said after reviewing surveillance tapes and finding no such attack captured on film. She added that there were a total of nine security guards on duty that night, with one stationed near the back door. Besides the guard and the bar attendant, no one would have gone out the back door, she said. She added that police have told her the student is back in class.
"If something happened-, I would have seen it immediately," she said.
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