Members of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity at the University of Central Florida created a “secret Facebook group” dubbed the “Dog Pound,” where they posted nude photos of women without their consent, according to a new lawsuit.
Kathryn Novak, who is being represented by Stormy Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, sued her ex-boyfriend Brandon Simpson, Delta Sigma Phi, and five other members of the fraternity’s UCF chapter on Wednesday. The complaint accuses Simpson of sharing an explicit video he’d recorded with Novak on the Facebook page, allowing it to eventually reach over 200 fraternity brothers without her consent.
It also claims that Simpson and the the other frat members engaged in “sexual cyber exploitation” on the Facebook page, “where fraternity brothers routinely posted electronic video and images of their sexual ‘conquests,’” including explicit photos and videos of their girlfriends and partners. This is a “form of ‘revenge porn,’” the papers argue. Novak is suing on six counts, including invasion of privacy, emotional distress, and negligence.
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“This is a very scary process, and it took a lot for me to come forward. I am doing it not just for me but for all women who are victims of this behavior. It is not right,” Novak said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
Delta Sigma Phi said it’s placed the UCF chapter “on immediate suspension” as it investigates the claims.
“While we cannot comment on specific allegations made in the lawsuit, these claims are disturbing and antithetical to our organization’s values and mission,” a spokesperson said.
According to the complaint, Novak and Simpson were in a long-distance relationship from October 2017 to February 2018. While Novak was living in Arizona, they saw each other a few times a month—sexting and recording “at least” one of their sex acts when she visited Simpson at UCF in Orlando, the papers state.
Novak “acquiesced and engaged in this exchange of intimate conversations with explicit understanding that any such pictures and videos would remain private and confidential,” according to the lawsuit.
Simpson sent that private, intimate video to “at least five members” of his fraternity, and it was viewed during chapter meetings, the lawsuit claims.
Novak says Simpson admitted to sharing the video and pictures on the “Dog Pound” Facebook group, after she noticed a fraternity brother had texted him about the sex tape in March, according to the lawsuit. She’s suing for an amount “at least in excess of $75,000,” the court papers state.
“This is the type of behavior that results when you have misogynists at the highest levels of our government,” Avenatti added.
The fraternity brothers listed in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment.
