Police arrest Sigma Chi member on seven counts of rape

LOGAN — Police have arrested a 27-year-old university student and fraternity member on seven counts of rape.

Logan City Police Captain Tyson Budge said Jason Brian Relopez was arrested and booked into the Cache County Jail Tuesday night after a young woman claimed he sexually assaulted her multiple times.

“She alleged that she was raped, sexually assaulted multiple times on July 11 at the Sigma Chi fraternity,” said Budge.

The victim reported she was attending a party at the fraternity house, near 705 East 800 North, at the time of the assaults. Investigators later learned of two other young women who made similar allegations, reportedly taking place between October 2014 and July 2015. The victims are between the age of 19 and 20-years-old.

Relopez was arrested in the parking lot of the fraternity house and refused to speak to officers. He is being held on a $140,000 bail. It is expected he will be formally arraigned Thursday afternoon in 1st District Court.

Budge said two of the victims are students at Utah State and investigators believe there may be more.

“With the information we’re gathering and the similarity in all the cases, and the patterns that we’ve seen,” said Budge, “it makes me believe there is going to be possibly more victims out there.”

Budge said if there are more, he hopes they will come forward so police can help them.

Michael Church, executive director of Sigma Chi headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, released a statement saying Relopez will be placed on interim suspension with the fraternity, pending a final outcome from authorities.

USU public relations director Tim Vitale said the school is gathering information on the allegations and will release a statement soon.

Relopez’s arrest comes four-months after 26-year-old Ryan Wray, a former president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, was arrested on one count of forcible sodomy.

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