Another woman says she was sexually assaulted at a University of Chicago fraternity party
The 19-year-old reported the Feb. 7 rape to Chicago police a day later, according to a new lawsuit. It allegedly happened at the Alpha Delta Phi house, a block from another fraternity house where an assault was reported last week.
When a 19-year-old woman went to a University of Chicago fraternity party in February, a member of the frat allegedly greeted her at the door and encouraged her to take a shot of alcohol.
It left her feeling “unsteady and lightheaded,” and she was ultimately left “alone and unconscious” inside a bedroom at the Alpha Delta Phi house, according to a lawsuit she filed this week against the fraternity’s local and national organizations.
The fraternity brother had assaulted “her limp body” after welcoming her into the sprawling, Collegiate Gothic-style house, 5747 S. University Ave., according to the lawsuit.
As the attack happened, other fraternity members blocked the woman’s friends from getting to the bedroom, the lawsuit says.
The accuser, who attends a different university, is identified only as “Jane Doe” — the same anonymous title attached to a woman who recently filed a lawsuit accusing Cornell University frat members of a gang rape.
That case set off a firestorm that has now engulfed the University of Chicago, where another woman reported she was sexually assaulted at an off-campus party hosted by a different fraternity earlier this month. That report of sexual assault, which made national news, is linked to a party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house, 5625 S. University Ave., just a block from the Alpha Delta Phi house.
A university spokesperson said the new allegations in the lawsuit are “disturbing” to its community.
“The University of Chicago is committed to addressing and preventing incidents of sexual assault,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The University is not a defendant in the lawsuit against the fraternity. The University will cooperate by providing information and is prepared to help the Chicago Police Department in its investigation.”
The accuser reported the Feb. 7 assault to Chicago police the following day, according to the lawsuit. But months later, the police investigation remains pending and she’s received no information from the university, according to her attorney.
“She’s doing the best that she can to help herself,” the woman’s attorney, Michael Grieco, said in an interview. “I think she’s been galvanized in a way by others coming forward, and I think that’s made her want to do this even more so and create change.”
The lawsuit identifies her “assailant” as Kevin Shim, although he isn’t named a defendant. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the alleged assault.
Shim didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Alpha Delta Phi’s national organization said Shim was suspended from the fraternity after the organization became aware of the allegations, which it takes “extremely seriously.”
“The conduct described is deeply troubling and inconsistent with our values,” spokesperson Steve Ehrfurth said in a statement. “We are committed to the safety and well-being of our members and communities and will cooperate with law enforcement as appropriate.”
‘Why hasn’t this been stopped?’
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County court, offers details about the alleged assault and how Jane Doe quickly reported it to police.
A friend helped her leave the Alpha Delta Phi house, but she struggled to speak and walk as she was led out, according to the lawsuit. The next morning, Jane Doe discovered bloodstains in her underwear and went to police to make her report.
That investigation remains open, according to a Chicago police spokesperson, who said Jane Doe was treated at Illinois Masonic Hospital a day after the assault reportedly happened.
The University of Chicago Police Department also reached out to the woman and opened their own investigation, the lawsuit says.
Grieco said the lawsuit aims to target the failures of institutions, not just individuals.
“There are always perpetrators committing crimes against others. But I think ... what we’ve seen around the country really is: ‘Why hasn’t this been stopped?” Grieco said.
“Institutions have known for decades that fraternities can go off the rails. … Each instance that occurs is another level of notice to put this school, put these fraternities on guard to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do something about that.’ And that’s what this is about.”
Jane Doe has received no information from the university about actions taken against the alleged perpetrator or the fraternity, Grieco said.
Her report to Chicago police should have immediately triggered an investigation from the university, according to Grieco. But when the woman asked the university for the internal records, she was told to file a subpoena, he said.
The lawsuit names the university as a respondent in an effort to obtain those files.
It highlights an alleged history of sexual assault at the Alpha Delta Phi chapter that dates back almost two decades.
In 2009, there were multiple reports of sexual assault at the Alpha Delta Phi house, according to the lawsuit, which says the Chicago and University of Chicago police departments opened investigations in response to a report of sexual assault during the fraternity’s weekly “Bar Night” party.
Then, in 2022, an Instagram user posted an anonymous account of a sexual assault that allegedly happened at the Alpha Delta Phi house.
The lawsuit insists the fraternity’s national headquarters is “aware of past instances of sexual assault and investigations of sexual assault inflicted by its members.”
“If you are a student there at the fraternity, then these fraternity policies and procedures should be in place,” Grieco said. “And the University of Chicago needs to do a better job of ensuring that these places are safe for their students that they know are going there and living there on a day-to-day basis.”
Abba Diallo, a 25-year-old sociology major from West Africa, said she “would like to see the university caring a bit more about the students, especially the young girls.”
“They want to be safe,” Diallo said while walking through the campus Tuesday. “They want to know that the university cares about them and their health and their safety, and that we are making sure that we have conversations about content and relationships and all those things.
“And I just felt like it wasn’t the case, and it was quite disappointing.”
The university will hold a public safety meeting Wednesday evening following the recent reports of sexual assault. The meeting agenda was set in September “and includes a general discussion of sexual misconduct protocols and support systems, along with other public safety topics,” a university spokesperson said.
It will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. at 6054 S. Drexel Ave. and attendees can also join virtually.
