A woman is suing an entire University of South Florida fraternity and its national body, alleging that one of its brothers sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious at a party.
The teenager, a Pinellas County resident who is only identified as 'Jane Doe No. 72' and was 16 at the time of the incident, filed the lawsuit along with her parents and attorney in Hillsborough County last week. They are seeking $5 million in damages, as well as court costs and a jury trial.
Doe 72 says Pi Kappa Phi member Dillon LaGamma, 19, raped her after she was encouraged to drink to the point of becoming unresponsive. She says she woke up in the hospital the next morning.
The lawsuit states that at a Pi Kappa Phi party on USF's campus last October, the teen was given a pre-poured mixed drink that was the first of many "without anyone questioning her age or level of inebriation." She was pressured to drink a "slap bag" filled with alcohol, the lawsuit states, and became dangerously drunk, incoherent and barely able to stand.
That's when LaGamma allegedly took her into a room. She couldn't consent due to her age and level of inebriation, yet LaGamma had sex with her "unconscious body," the lawsuit states.
Another fraternity member eventually came across the girl, who had blacked out, and had her sent to the hospital. The teen says the next thing she remembers is waking up in blood-soaked clothes.
LaGamma was arrested the following day, on a call from the hospital reporting an assault. LaGamma, a resident of Plantation, is no longer enrolled at the university. He was released on bail the day after his booking. He faces a charge of sexual battery on a victim older than 12 but younger than 18.
USF's Pi Kappa Phi chapter has moved from suspension to probation after re-examining its procedures for managing risk. It still can't host any social events with alcohol until late 2017, and all of its current social events have to be cleared by USF officials.
It will remain on probation through spring 2018.