Johns Hopkins Faces Federal Complaint Over Alleged Frat House Gang Rape

Students at Johns Hopkins University filed a formal complaint recently with the U.S. Department of Education after the administration failed to notify students of a gang rape investigation involving the school's Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity.

The Baltimore City Police Department investigated several members of PIKE for an alleged drug-facilitated gang rape of a Towson University student in spring 2013, according to the Huffington Post.

By the Jeanne Clery Act, universities receiving federal aid are required to report crimes within two business days on a public crime log and issue "timely warnings" about "crimes which pose a serious or ongoing threat to students and employees," according to the Clery Center for Security on Campus.

The Clery Act specifies that its purview includes "incidents that occur on campus, in unobstructed public areas immediately adjacent to or running through the campus and at certain non-campus facilities including Greek housing and remote classrooms."

Students said they were denied access to information important for decision-making about their safety.

"They knew that [PIKE] was very dangerous and put their students at risk and still allowed [PIKE] to operate," Carlene Partow, president-elect of the Hopkins Feminists, told The Johns Hopkins News-Letter.

Johns Hopkins released a statement Friday after its students filed a complaint regarding the Clery Act violation, explaining why it didn't release information.

"The decision not to notify the university community in that case was made after considering relevant facts and legal requirements, and in consultation with the Baltimore police department, which was leading the investigation," the statement said.

In June, Baltimore City officials reported they would not prosecute the case due to insufficient evidence, and as a result, Johns Hopkins administrators determined no notification was necessary, according to the Huffington Post.

"We have this idea that rapes are falsely reported, and so we should make sure it really happened and investigate first, but that's not what the law says," Laura Dunn, founder of Survjustice, an advocacy organization around the issue of sexual violence, told The Baltimore Sun about the Clery Act.

As the complaint against the university is investigated, Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels commissioned an independent review of how it handled the incident.