Student alleges beating at Chi Phi house
November 17, 2009 by CAREY ONEIL
Filed under News
An 18-year-old Clemson University student told police he was held against his will and assaulted in the basement of the Chi Phi fraternity house early Sunday morning, according to a University Police report.
The complainant, who was visiting the University for Saturday’s football game, told police he was held after an altercation at Roadhouse bar up the street from the house.
According to the report:
An officer saw the complainant run into the middle of Lumpkin Street in front of the Chi Phi house at 3:22 a.m., yelling for someone to help him. When the officer helped him out of the road, the complainant was crying and appeared intoxicated and incoherent.
The complainant told the officer people had “messed him up,” and he had multiple cuts; a swollen right eye; wet, dirty clothes and said he had shoulder pain.
The only suspect declined to comment on the record.
Bobby Deery, former president and current member of Chi Phi, said the suspect is not a member of the fraternity.
Deery said he was at the house Saturday night and nothing out of the ordinary happened.
“I think that’s a false accusation,” he said. “That’s not the character of any of the guys in Chi Phi.”
Deery pointed out the complainant, who isn’t from Athens, could be mistaken about which house he was allegedly held in, but said, “If that did happen, I hope to God the guy who did it is punished.”
Jon Huff, manager of Roadhouse, said he saw a scuffle outside the bar around 2:30 a.m.
“We heard it going on. We already had the doors locked up,” he said. “There was one guy that had his face all bloodied up.”
Patrick Richardson, president of Chi Phi, and Trevor Brightwell, president of the Interfraternity Council, were unavailable for comment.
