University of Chicago to hold public safety meeting amid sexual assault allegations at fraternity houses

The University of Chicago was set to hold a public safety meeting Wednesday, in the wake of one alleged sexual assault at one fraternity party this month and another at a different frat house earlier this year that is the subject of a new lawsuit.

Sexual misconduct support and education are among the topics on the agenda for the meeting Wednesday night. The meeting will give students and neighbors in the Hyde Park community a chance to weigh in on safety.

On Tuesday, a woman filed a lawsuit against the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at the University of Chicago, alleging that she was raped at a fraternity party in February and that the fraternity and the university were aware of years of sexual assault reports.

According to the complaint, the victim, identified only as Jane Doe, attended a party at the Alpha Delta Phi house, 5747 S. University Ave., on Feb. 7, 2026. According to the complaint, at the party Doe was given a shot of unidentified alcohol by one of the fraternity members, which the complaint identifies as student Kevin Shim, and was encouraged to drink it. The lawsuit says "almost immediately" after she drank the alcohol, Doe began to feel "unsteady and lightheaded."

At that point, according to the complaint, Shim coerced her upstairs to a bedroom, led her to a bed, and sexually assaulted her. The complaint states Doe told him multiple times that she felt unsteady and lightheaded, but he ignored her. The complaint also says that while in the room, Doe "lost all physical and verbal ability to refuse" the frat member.

The complaint states Doe was raped while unable to consent or to verbally or physically refuse Shim, but she did plead with him to wear a condom. According to the complaint, he refused.

After the assault, Jane Doe alleges Shim left her in the room, and another frat brother blocked her friends from going upstairs to find her. The lawsuit alleges her friends were not allowed to go upstairs until her assailant told his frat brother that it was OK.

Doe alleges she was still unconscious when her friends found her, and she struggled to speak and walk as they helped her out of the house. She reported the assault to Chicago police the next morning when she discovered bloodstains in her underwear, according to the lawsuit.

The woman's attorney said she had a rape kit performed and reported the assault to police the next day.

The lawsuit accuses the local chapter and national organization of Alpha Delta Phi of ignoring previous sexual assault reports and failing to enforce safety rules.

Doe's attorneys said the effects of the alleged assault have continued for months.

Chicago police said the investigation into the Alpha Delta Phi incident remains open more than eight months after the reported assault.

At this time, Shim has not been criminally charged. CBS News Chicago reached out to him for comment, but has not heard back.

Alpha Delta Phi says it has suspended him from the fraternity.

Meanwhile at UChicago, a sexual assault was also reported at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house on the next block at 5625 S. University Ave., during a party early on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 11.

According to a University of Chicago report, a 21-year-old woman reported she was sexually assaulted in a bathroom during a frat party at 1:50 a.m. Sunday. A UChicago alert issued this week said the woman was not affiliated with the university.

The woman did not know her attacker, the university said. They said when someone intervened, the unidentified suspect ran off.

Video has surfaced online showing a woman, who identified herself as a friend of the 21-year-old victim, chasing down a man she claimed to be her friend's attacker and yelling that he assaulted her friend in a bathroom at a frat party.

Later, the friend commented that the 21-year-old woman was "drugged and taken away from us against her will…practically incapacitated, being held to the ground with a man over her, kissing her and taking her clothes off."

In the alleged AEPi incident, a person of interest has been identified through witness statements and video evidence, all of which have been shared with the Chicago Police Department, the university said. The person has not been taken into custody.

The incidents at the UChicago frat houses are making headlines amid the fallout from separate sexual assault allegations at the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University, which is also raising questions about fraternity culture.

A University of Chicago Public Safety Council meeting was set to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday. University of Chicago police Chief Kyle Bowman was set to provide an update.

The meeting will be held at the University of Chicago Department of Safety and Security at 6054 S. Drexel Ave. Participants may go in person or join by Zoom.

Other topics, including Halloween in Hyde Park events, will also be addressed.