Clery Report reveals six cases of reported rape in 2025

Content warning: rape, gender-based violence

Loyola’s annual Clery Report — a campus crime report all universities receiving federal funding in the United States are required to release each year — documented six cases of rape in 2025. It’s the highest number recorded since 2019 when the university was under fire for allegedly mishandling sexual assaults on campus.

The six rapes reported in 2025, all occuring within on-campus housing, represents double the number reported in 2024.

The 2026 Clery Report, released by the Office of Equity and Compliance (OEC) Oct. 6, also reported seven cases of fondling, six cases of domestic violence and 12 cases of stalking.

The reports come amid national attention to higher education institutions’ handlings of sexual assault cases. The most recent example is the alleged Cornell gang rape case.

In addition to the 2025 rape reports, the Cornell case has also refocused attention on the six cases of rape reported by Loyola students in 2019, which are referenced in a 2022 lawsuit filed by ten women alleging Loyola systemically mishandled and underreported student complaints of sexual misconduct, according to NBC 5 Chicago.   

The case remains ongoing, with a court date set for September 2027.

The 2019 Assaults 

In 2019, three Loyola students told The Phoenix Loyola’s OEC allowed a “serial predator,” accused of raping all three of them, to remain on campus for five months while investigations were underway.

First-year biochemistry major Liv Hodapp said she’s changed her opinion about the university after hearing about its handling of the 2019 cases.  

“It definitely discouraged me off of Loyola,” she said. “If they cannot guarantee my safety or even that justice will be upheld if something were to happen, there’s not a good reason to stay.”

The university doesn’t comment on pending litigation or active investigations to protect the integrity of the legal system and privacy of involved individuals, according to a statement sent to The Phoenix.

“Loyola University Chicago always prioritizes the safety of our students. As such, Loyola takes reports of sexual misconduct very seriously, and responds promptly, equitably, and in accordance with our legal and ethical responsibilities to promote a safe and inclusive learning environment for all,” the statement said.

The Clery Report

The Clery Report is required under federal law for any institution receiving federal funding. It requires the institutions to document crimes reported on or around their campuses. The numbers documented don’t reflect whether cases have been adjudicated or resolved — they count each time an incident is reported, according to the Federal Student Aid Handbook.

The handbook also states that decisions by any courts, juries or other similar noncampus officials can’t make the school withhold numbers from the report. The only situation in which a university can withhold or remove a report occurs when law enforcement determines, after investigation, that the crime report is “unfounded.”

Loyola’s Clery reporting divides property into three categories — on-campus locations, like dining and residence halls, public property on or adjacent to campus and off-campus property owned or controlled by the university or a student organization.

Other crimes reported on the Lake Shore Campus include four instances of burglary, three instances of motor vehicle theft and 154 referrals for liquor law violation.

Increases in crimes from 2024 to 2025 included the number of stalking incidents occurring on campus from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. as well as burglary and motor vehicle thefts, excluding electric scooters or bikes. 

One notable change the Clery Report saw from 2024 to 2025 was the utilization of the Stop Campus Hazing Act, now requiring institutions to report any instances of hazing on campus. 

Zero instances of hazing were reported for 2025.

Title IX

Timothy Love, Title IX coordinator under the OEC, said the annual report has limitations when it comes to understanding gender-based violence. 

“Clery serves a limited purpose because it is so restrictive in how it defines the crimes that made the cut,” Love said.

The Clery Report defines crimes based on the FBI’s crime definitions and classification system known as the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). 

Due to the specificity within incident classification by national Title IX definitions, Loyola has two processes for addressing gender-based violence — the Title IX Grievance Process and the Equitable Resolution Process.

The Title IX process — which is used to address cases of sexual harassment that fall under the Title IX guidelines — has four main steps for addressing reports. First, an investigation of a formal complaint where Loyola examines the evidence. Then, a live hearing where affected parties are required to see and hear each other and allegations are formally considered. 

After, a written determination issued by the hearing chairperson and, if applicable, decision appeals, according to the Grievance Process webpage. 

While Loyola is transparent about their formal process for addressing Title IX complaints, participating in that process can be intimidating to students, according to first-year social work major Miley Podgorski. She said victims having to communicate with their accused offender adds to the stress of reporting an incident. 

“It’s a very public scene for the victim seeing the accuser, and I think that’s nerve-wracking,” Podgorski said.

Jane Doe G, as she’s named in the lawsuit alleging Loyola’s mishandlings of sexual misconduct reports, told NBC 5 Chicago she felt the process of reporting and of interacting with her alleged assaulter as part of Loyola’s processes was equally as traumatizing as the assault, if not more.  

All other instances such as discrimination, non-Title IX sexual misconduct and other instances of gender-based violence are addressed through broader university policy of the Equitable Resolution Process, including off-campus incidents.

The Equitable Resolution Process can have one to three phases — investigation, administrative resolution and appeal. This process always results in one of two findings — responsible or not responsible. 

If found responsible, Loyola may impose a range of sanctions on the student, including educational interventions like mandated training or disciplinary actions like suspension or expulsion, according to the Grievance Process Sanctioning and Remedies webpage.

Students also have support options like The Line, Loyola’s confidential advocacy service for students affected by gender-based violence. The Line helps students consider their options — without officially involving the university or the Chicago Police Department — according to the Community Coalition for Gender-Based Violence’s webpage.

If students decide to involve Campus Security after an incident of gender-based violence, officers are trained to be non-invasive in their questioning, Tim Cunningham, administrative commander of Campus Safety, explained. Officers will ask if students would like to “sign a complaint,”  which equates to pressing charges and will involve speaking to a CPD detective, according to the Loyola Campus Security webpage.

“We don’t want to make someone have to repeat a terrible experience out loud, especially if we know that they’re going to then go to the Chicago Police Department,” Cunningham said. “We want to get just the very basic information to inform us of what happened, then we’ll put that person in touch with the resources they need, either internal to the university or external to the university.”

Student resources

Loyola offers prevention education and training initiatives, report procedures and additional support for students affected by gender-based violence.

First-year students are required to complete in-person Active Bystander training, held in early September, as well as U Got This!, an online sexual misconduct module which teaches about consent and the effects of alcohol. 

First-year political science major Elizabeth Warful said she feels the initiatives should focus less on providing basic definitions and more on equipping students with resources and information about university procedures or handling difficult situations.  

“I feel like it was very plain,” Warful said. “I think it should’ve been more like, ‘If you’re in this situation and gonna get backlash, here’s what you’re gonna do.’” 

First-year forensic science major Trinity De Leon said she also partook in these trainings. Although she said the initiatives informed students effectively, she felt the details of the training could’ve been modified to strengthen the programs. 

“I definitely think they could have used more specific stories,” she said. “I feel like those testimonies would have done a lot better to get the point across to people because they’re ten times more real when you listen to someone who survived it or an affected family.” 

Loyola also conducts an anonymous Speak Up survey every other year to gather information about students’ experiences with sexual harassment and violence. The survey, last released in 2024, offers additional insight in areas that official report statistics may not be able to. The university uses these survey results to improve their policies and develop prevention initiatives, Love said. 

According to the 2024 survey, 58% of students surveyed said they experienced sexual harassment or discrimination in the past 12 months, with approximately 13.2% of respondants reporting they experienced sexual violence in the past 12 months. 

Warful said students may feel uncomfortable speaking up about gender-based violence and emphasized the importance of creating a low-risk environment for students to report and share feedback. 

“I think a lot of girls especially feel like they can’t speak up about it because they’re embarrassed,” Warful said. 

Addressing gender-based violence requires more than policy education and training initiatives, according to De Leon. Creating an environment where students can share their experiences and get the support and justice they need and deserve is an important part of campus safety.

De Leon said she hopes the recent attention to the 2019 rape allegations will lead to accountability from those involved and a shift in campus culture to create a truly safe environment. 

“I hope things are changing. I hope people are taking it more seriously,” De Leon said. 

For students seeking confidential support or information about their options after experiencing gender-based violence, The Line is available to call from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 24/7 on weekends while classes are in session and can be contacted at 773-494-3810. 

To report a crime, Campus Safety can be contacted at 773-508-7233. Victims of sexual assault can contact The National Sexual Assault Helpine at 800-656-4673. Victims of gender-based violence can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

University students who want free help navigating any legal processes after an assault can contact legal@caase.org. 

News editor Paige Dillinger contributed reporting.