19-year-old arrested on suspicion of rape in University of Kansas dorm: police

A 19-year-old man was arrested in connection with a rape at the University of Kansas that was reported amid ongoing controversy about sexual assault.

KU Public Safety Deputy Chief James Druen said Thursday that the rape occurred Sept. 16 in a dormitory room. A report was made to the university’s police force on Wednesday and there was probable cause to arrest a suspect on rape charges, Druen said.

The suspect was booked into Douglas County jail Wednesday night and is currently being held there, Druen said.

The latest arrest comes amid an ongoing discussion of sexual assault in Lawrence and the KU community. Protests erupted earlier this month when a student reported she was sexually assaulted at a party at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house.

University officials opened an investigation, but students who protested said they wanted the school to do more to address safety concerns. Hundreds of people gathered outside the fraternity house during two days of protests and students held a sit-in last Friday outside of Chancellor Doug Girod’s office.

Nearly 20,000 signatures have been collected on a petition calling on the fraternity to be banned.