Student reports being sexually assaulted at UC Berkeley fraternity early Sunday

BERKELEY, Calif. (KTVU/BCN) - The talk around fraternity row on the Cal campus is about a reported sexual assault.

Students say it happened at a frat house party over the weekend.

Police would only confirm the incident happened between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. Sunday.

However, one student who attended the party showed us a notification from the university with more details.

"We got an email about it afterward. When we were at the party we didn't really see anything. We were only there for about an hour and we left before all the police came," says UC. Berkeley freshman,Maddy.

In the email, it says, "the survivor reported being a victim of a sexual assault while at a fraternity. The survivor is a student at the university."

A spokeswoman for Sigma Phi Epsilon, the fraternity in question, confirmed the reported incident happened at their Cal Berkeley chapter.

She said members of the chapter's risk took the female victim to the hospital and later told police and university officials.

News of the incident doesn't come as a surprise to some Berkeley residents.

"Every weekend I hear a report of somebody telling me this frat that frat somebody's been assaulted," says Berkeley resident Bashir Leathers.

"No, it's not surprising at all. Because frat culture is really screwed up and they don't do very much to try to prevent sexual assault," says Berkeley resident Amber Hassall.

In the fall of 2016, frat and sorority parties were temporarily suspended on campus after a report of sexual assaults at Greek events.

A short while later those parties resumed with new regulations. Party-goers must be explained what "consent" means before being allowed to enter a chapter house.

One Cal student says that rule and more was explained at Sigma Phi Epsilon's party.

"They tell us there is sober brothers here. They are usually wearing something different. So usually the regulations are set up in place for it to be a safe environment," says Maddy.

For now, to make sure at least Sigma Phi Epsilon's house is safe, the chapter has ceased operations, meaning no events or programs will take place until the investigation is complete.

"It's good that they're being shut down for an investigation. I think the school needs to crack down on a lot of these frat houses," says Leathers.

Police say they're talking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance video from the area.

At this time there is no information about a suspect.