Greek Life Docuseries Star Abby Honold Has Never Apologized After Being Raped

Abby Hold has never discussed how Greek life at the University of Minnesota became involved after her 2014 rape — until now.

“I had started to slow down in sharing my story, but I had never really talked about the Greek life side of everything,” Honold said. Us Weekly specifically while promoting his episode of A&E’s Houses of Horror: Secrets of Greek College Life documents. “It really played a big role in what happened to me.”

Honold’s story is featured in the second episode of the docuseries, titled “Rape Culture,” which premiered on Monday, August 12. She recalls being sexually assaulted by a Sigma Phi Epsilon brother. Daniel Drill-Mellum tailgating during his junior year of college. Meanwhile, Drill-Mellum’s brothers were protecting him. While he was eventually convicted, Honold never received an apology from any members of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

“I definitely have a different perspective on it all 10 years later, but it still really hits me emotionally,” Honold explained. Usnoting that even after doing police training “regularly,” he still needs time to “process” after sharing his story. “It got a lot easier over time.”

After reporting Drill-Mellum for the rape, Honold detailed the backlash she received from members of Greek health organizations on the University of Minnesota campus. Two of Drill-Mellum’s brothers even recorded a phone call with Honold in which they tricked him into admitting that they had consensual sex. Drill-Mellum was released from police custody without charge after the brothers shared the footage.

“I thought I was crazy. I was telling myself that somehow I said something that didn’t happen,” Honold recalled. “I knew I wasn’t lying about my beating, but I thought I was really out of my mind.”

A recording of the call played during Honold’s episode of the A&E series, where he explained what went down with Drill-Mellum. Honold clearly stated that she was raped before the group’s brothers asked the next question about “consensual sex,” but the question was twisted, so it sounded like “real sex.” Held said yes.

“It was proof that they were trying to deceive me on the phone,” he said Us. “It really gave me hope at the time that maybe something could be done about this. One of the boys who called had been walking around the school bragging about how he found out the truth and exposed me. So to experience it myself, it was … protection is not even a strong enough word.”

After Drill-Mellum’s release, Honold published an anonymous blog post naming him as his rapist. Other victims have come forward – some of whom did not want to report their rape at first.

“I’m just mad at him for doing what he did to so many people. I think a lot of people, when that happens to them, it separates them,” he explained Us. “I think he was really good at isolating victims and finding people who didn’t have a lot of support. That was the case with many of his victims. He knew that we were the kind of people who might not have come forward.”

After Drill-Mellum’s trial was opened in 2015, he was re-arrested 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.

Despite Drill-Mellum’s decision, Honold never heard from any of his brothers again.

“I’m a really forgiving person and when I went public about this, I just had this hope in myself that maybe people will apologize,” she said. “Maybe we can get together, we can do something good with this. And that didn’t happen with them.”

Honold’s experience led to the creation of The Abby Honold Act, which was signed into law in 2022 and established trauma-informed training programs for law enforcement officers regarding their response to certain crimes, including sexual assault. Even though he has been able to “create a lot of good” in the ten years since he was raped, Honold said Us “It still saddens me” that no one admitted their wrongdoing in this situation.

“In my head, I was hoping that maybe they would try to come out and say, ‘Hey, I really made a mistake,'” he added. “That was not the way it was taken. But there were many other men in Greek life at the University of Minnesota, who were younger than these men and unbeknownst to them, they really took it upon themselves to start focusing on that issue. I really appreciated that.”

When discussing his healing process directly, Honold portrayed himself as a college senior.

“My teenage self wouldn’t have thought I’d be talking openly about this,” he admitted to Us. “I was really quiet for a few years after it happened. I think it brings a lot of healing to be able to talk about your experiences instead of letting other people speak for you.”

New episodes of Houses of Horror: Secrets of Greek College Life premieres on A&E Mondays at 9 pm ET.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).