A University of Chicago fraternity member accused of raping a 19-year-old woman continued to participate in campus and fraternity activities for months after the alleged assault, maintaining an active social and academic schedule until a civil lawsuit made the allegations public this month.
Kevin Shim, a sophomore computational and applied mathematics and physics major and a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, allegedly assaulted an unnamed woman, identified in court records as Jane Doe, during a Feb. 7 party at the fraternity house. According to reporting by the independent student newspaper, the Chicago Maroon, Shim’s campus routine went uninterrupted in the months following the incident. He continued attending math and computer classes, posing for photographs with fraternity brothers during the spring, and maintaining a normal social life.
The allegations surfaced in a 42-page complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Oct. 19. The lawsuit alleges that Shim’s name appeared as late as Oct. 15 on an invitation for a social function co-hosted by Alpha Delta Phi and the university’s Delta Gamma sorority chapter. The event, titled “Champagne and Shackles,” involved participants being handcuffed together until finishing a bottle of champagne.
Delta Gamma President Litzy Tafolla told the student newspaper that the event took place before the lawsuit became public, stating that no members of her sorority were aware of the allegations prior to the filing. Shim’s name was eventually removed from the invitation, and he did not attend the gathering.
According to the complaint, the victim—who is not enrolled at the University of Chicago—attended the February gathering with friends after discovering the event on Instagram. The lawsuit states that Shim gave her a shot that caused her to feel lightheaded and unsteady, before leading her to an isolated bedroom. The filing alleges that Shim made unwanted sexual advances, and that although the victim lost physical and verbal capacity to refuse, she pleaded with him to wear a condom. The complaint states that he refused and penetrated her without consent.
The court papers further allege that after the assault, the victim was left alone and unconscious until a friend located her upstairs, after fraternity members initially attempted to block the friend from searching the upper level.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and more than $200,000 in damages, plus legal fees. While the Alpha Delta Phi national organization and its local chapter are named as defendants in the filing, Shim himself is not listed as a defendant. He has not commented publicly on the accusations.
A lawyer representing Shim told reporters that his departure from campus this week was unrelated to the legal allegations. As of Tuesday, Shim had moved out of his university residence hall and had been suspended from the fraternity, according to the student newspaper. University directories still listed his name as of Thursday.
The national Alpha Delta Phi organization did not specify when its leadership learned of the allegations or when Shim was suspended. Representatives for the national fraternity, its Chicago chapter, the University of Chicago, and the university’s police department did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The filing arrives shortly after another sexual assault allegation involving a different fraternity house near the university earlier this month, marking a period of intense scrutiny over campus safety and Greek life at the elite institution.
