The Long Beach Police Department said Tuesday that it has dropped the investigation of a sexual assault that was initially reported to have taken place at the Kappa Sigma house during a Valentine’s Day “Lace and Lust” party Feb. 13-14.
“The victim chose not to continue with the criminal prosecution, therefore our investigation has been suspended,” said Marlene Arrona, a spokesperson for the LBPD.
Jeffrey Klaus, the associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students, said that the Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development at Cal State Long Beach will “continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the party or the event,” regardless of the LBPD’s suspension of its investigation.
“We will continue what we will do because we’re looking at the organization in terms of what happened with the party,” Klaus said.
The investigation, which began as the result of the sexual assault allegation, concerns risk management protocols such as guest lists, whether alcohol was served and whether it was served to minors, according to Klaus.
The fraternity did not reply to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Two 20-year-old students who attended the party said the fraternity did not check their ID’s, and that they were given beer and offered hard liquor from a bar. The CSULB students spoke under condition of anonymity because they, and others, had engaged in illegal underage drinking.
According to section 4.E of the CSULB code of conduct for fraternities and sororities, the purchase or use of any bulk quantity of alcoholic beverages or providing a common source of alcohol such as alcoholic punch or open bars is prohibited.
The code also states that “all alcoholic beverages consumed at chapter functions, regardless of location, must be brought by the individual members and guests attending the function for their own personal consumption, or purchased as individual drinks through a cash bar operated by a licensed establishment where the function is held. In the event that the BYOB option is selected for a chapter event, only members and guests who are 21 years of age or older may bring or consume alcohol at the event. The responsibility for checking identification is with the sponsoring chapter(s).”
Students Ramona Moser, 23, and Erika Rahmqvist, 22, who were invited to the party by a Kappa Sigma member, said Tuesday that any woman could come to the party, while men had to be affiliated with a fraternity to enter.
“There were a lot of girls walking around in underwear … and guys in boxers,” said Moser, an exchange student from Switzerland. Though the party was lingerie themed, party goers were allowed to wear what they wanted.
“I asked [my friend] about the theme, and she told me that there was no need to dress up,” Moser said.
Rahmqvist, an exchange student from Sweden, said the house offered an open bar with beer, liquor and hard punch, commonly known as “jungle juice.”
The party, Moser said, finally came to an end when police arrived at 4 a.m.
A neighbor of the off-campus Kappa Sigma house on Atlantic Avenue and Eighth Street, who has lived in an apartment next door for six years, said he is moving because of the parties that the fraternity throws.
“There’s a lot of disturbance and loud music – sometimes they have parties of about 200 or 300 people or more,” the neighbor, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said. “[Police] helicopters will be over and above, trying to break it up because the neighbors had complained about the too much noise and partying and disruption … At 1, 2, 3, sometimes 4 o’clock in the morning, they’re still partying.”
Michael Uhlenkamp, executive director of news at CSULB, said in an email Monday, “The university is in the process of reviewing the available information about the alleged assault to determine if it will launch a Title IX investigation.”
The Title IX office did not return requests for comment.
Last week, CSULB Student Life and Development Director Brett Waterfield confirmed that Kappa Sigma had been suspended by the fraternity’s national organization until further notice while the LBPD investigated the allegations.
He also said Kappa Sigma nationals conducted an investigation of their own to identify components of the party that could have led to the creation of an unsafe environment. Waterfield said that that investigation was completed on Feb. 19, and that a report would be sent to the OSCED.
Waterfield did not return requests for comment on whether that suspension had been lifted.
Beer cans and plastic cups can be seen in the backyard of the Kappa Sigma chapter house Feb. 29.
The Kappa Sigma fraternity house is pictured Feb. 29.