Ari Goldstein, the former president of the Temple University chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, has been convicted of felonious attempted sexual assault and two related misdemeanor charges following a jury trial in Philadelphia. Goldstein was acquitted of similar charges involving another woman. Both women were also students at Temple when the assaults allegedly occurred inside Goldstein’s room in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house on the Temple campus in Philadelphia during the 2017-2018 academic year. Under Pennsylvania law, a conviction on a charge of felony attempted sexual assault carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and the convicted felon is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life.
Following Goldstein’s arrest, Temple conducted an internal investigation into allegations of other sexual assaults at the fraternity house along with reports of drug use and underage drinking. At the conclusion of that investigation, Alpha Epsilon Pi was ordered to disband and expelled from campus.
As is the case in other states, Pennsylvania law does not prohibit a sexual assault victim from filing a civil lawsuit against his or her alleged assailant, regardless of the verdict in that assailant’s criminal trial.
About Alpha Epsilon Pi
Founded in 1913, Alpha Epsilon Pi’s website states that the fraternity’s mission is “Developing leadership for the Jewish Community” through its 175 chapters located in seven countries. Unlike many college fraternities that admit pledges regardless of their religious beliefs or cultural/ethnic heritage, even the most cursory reading of Alpha Epsilon Pi’s website strongly suggests that its membership is exclusively Jewish.
Alpha Epsilon Pi: Bad Conduct or Bad Press?
Like many other college fraternities who claim that they are innocent victims of stereotyping by the news media, Alpha Epsilon Pi’s record is far from spotless. In addition to its expulsion from campus by Temple University, some of the more controversial incidents in fraternity’s recent history are described below.
November 2019: The University of Arizona suspended the fraternity until at least 2025 after it was found to have repeatedly violated the school’s hazing and alcohol policies while it was on probation for previous violations of those policies.
March 2019: Emory University suspended the fraternity for 2 years over violations of the school’s anti-hazing policies.
April 2018: All but one member of the Union College chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi resigned to protest discrimination by the fraternity’s national headquarters against non-Jewish members.
December 2016: A female student filed a lawsuit the fraternity, 2 of its members, and the College of Charleston after she said she was rendered unconscious by a combination of alcohol and drugs at a party at the fraternity house and then raped while a fraternity member recorded the assault on his cellphone.
November 2015: Citing, in part, discrimination against non-Jewish members by its national headquarters, the Brown University chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi voted to disaffiliate itself and to reorganize as separate fraternity.
Contacting a Fraternity Misconduct Lawyer
As we have noted time and time again in other posts on our website, many college fraternities have a very poor record at living up to the lofty ideals that they claim to cherish. As dismal as Alpha Epsilon Pi’s record may be, it is far from the worst that we have documented!
If your child was a victim of sexual assault by a fraternity member, or was injured as a result of fraternity hazing, we invite you to contact the fraternity hazing and misconduct lawyer at The Doan Law Firm to arrange a free, no obligation, review of the facts in your child’s injury case and a discussion of the legal options that may be available to you.
When you contact our firm, you case review and first consultation with our fraternity misconduct injury lawyer are always free, confidential, and do not obligate you in any way to hiring us as your legal counsel. Should you decide that a lawsuit is your best course of action, and that you would like for us represent you in court, we are willing to assume full responsibility for all aspects of preparing your case for trial in exchange for a percentage of the final settlement we are prepared to win for you.