{"id":118016,"date":"2024-08-13T03:05:10","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T03:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/13\/greek-life-docuseries-star-abby-honold-never-got-apology-after-rape\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T03:05:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T03:05:10","slug":"greek-life-docuseries-star-abby-honold-never-got-apology-after-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/13\/greek-life-docuseries-star-abby-honold-never-got-apology-after-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek Life Docuseries Star Abby Honold Never Got Apology After Rape"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Abby Honold<\/strong> never discussed how Greek life<\/a> at the University of Minnesota was involved in the aftermath of her 2014 rape \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had started to slow down on sharing my story, but I had never really talked about the Greek life aspect of everything,\u201d Honold told Us Weekly<\/em> exclusively while promoting her episode of A&E\u2019s Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life<\/em> docuseries. \u201cIt really did play a huge role in what happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honold\u2019s story is showcased in the docuseries\u2019 second episode, titled \u201cRape Culture,\u201d which premiered on Monday, August 12. She recalled being sexually assaulted by Sigma Phi Epsilon brother Daniel Drill-Mellum<\/strong> at a tailgate during her junior year of college. At the time, Drill-Mellum\u2019s fraternity brothers protected him. While he was eventually convicted for the crime, Honold never received an apology from any Sigma Phi Epsilon members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely have a different perspective on everything 10 years later, but it still really does impact me emotionally,\u201d Honold explained to Us<\/em>, noting that even after doing police trainings \u201cpretty regularly,\u201d she still needs time to \u201cprocess\u201d after sharing her story. \u201cIt got so much easier over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

After reporting Drill-Mellum for rape, Honold detailed the backlash she received from members of the Greek life organizations on the University of Minnesota\u2019s campus. Two of Drill-Mellum\u2019s fraternity brothers even recorded a phone call with Honold in which they tricked her into admitting they had consensual sex. Drill-Mellum was released from police custody with no charges after the fraternity brothers shared the recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that I was crazy. I really thought that I had somehow blurted out something that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d Honold recalled. \u201cI knew that I wasn\u2019t lying about the assault, but I thought that I had really lost my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Hollywood’s Sexual Misconduct Scandals<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tWhile Hollywood may appear to be all glitz and glam on the surface, the industry has seen its fair share of\u00a0scandals\u00a0through the years. The\u00a0New York Times\u00a0and the\u00a0New Yorker first published investigative pieces in 2017 that accused disgruntled movie producer Harvey Weinstein of decades of sexual assault and harassment. Soon after, Weinstein stood trial and was [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A recording of the phone call played during Honold\u2019s episode of the A&E series, in which she detailed what went down with Drill-Mellum. Honold clearly stated that she was raped before the fraternity brothers asked a follow-up question about having \u201cconsensual sex,\u201d but the inquiry was mumbled, so it sounded like \u201cactual sex.\u201d Honold said yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was evidence that they were trying to trick me on the phone,\u201d she told Us<\/em>. \u201cIt really gave me hope in that moment that maybe something can be done about this. One of the boys who made the phone call had gone around campus and bragged about how he found the truth and he exposed me. So to hear it for myself, it was \u2026 vindicating isn\u2019t even a strong enough word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Drill-Mellum\u2019s release, Honold published an anonymous blog post naming him as her rapist. Other victims then came forward \u2014 some of whom did not want to report their rape at first.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just angry at him for doing what he did to so many people. I think most people, when that happens to them, it is isolating,\u201d she explained to Us<\/em>. \u201cI think that he just was really good at isolating victims and finding people who didn\u2019t have a lot of support. That was the case for a lot of his victims. He knew that we were the types of people who maybe wouldn\u2019t have come forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the Drill-Mellum case was reopened in 2015, he was arrested again and tried for raping Honold and a second victim. In August 2016, Drill-Mellum pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and was sentenced to 74 months in prison. He was released in September 2020.<\/p>\n

Despite Drill-Mellum\u2019s guilty verdict, Honold never heard from any of his fraternity brothers again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a really forgiving person and when I came forward about this, I just had this hope inside of me that maybe people will apologize,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe we can kind of come together, we can make something good out of this. And that wasn\u2019t what happened with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>The Most Shocking True Crime Docs of 2024<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tFrom Sherri Papini\u2018s kidnapping hoax to the two separate documentaries about Scott Peterson\u2018s murder conviction, it\u2019s safe to say that most streaming services are investing in true crime in 2024. Netflix and Hulu usually corner the genre by focusing on the most recent \u2014 and most surprising \u2014 cases. It was Investigation Discovery, however, that [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Honold\u2019s experienced led to the creation of The Abby Honold Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and establishes trauma-informed training programs for law enforcement regarding their response to certain crimes, including sexual assault. Even though she was able to \u201ccreate a lot of good\u201d in the decade since her rape, Honold told Us<\/em> \u201cit still makes me sad\u201d that no one admitted their wrongdoing in the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my head, I was hoping that maybe they would try and come forward to say, \u2018Hey, I really made a mistake,\u2019\u201d she added. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t the direction it was taken. But there were a lot of other men in Greek life at the University of Minnesota, who were years younger than these men and didn\u2019t know them, who really took it upon themselves to start focusing on that issue. I really appreciated that.\u201d<\/p>\n

When discussing her healing process specifically, Honold reflected on herself as a college-aged student.<\/p>\n

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