Update: After being arrested Jinsoo Kim was found innocent and all charges were cleared. Kim was able to return to Cornell and graduate in February 2015 after a leave of absence.
An ex-Cornell student and 312 College Ave. resident who was found guilty of trespassing into the bedrooms of two females in the apartment complex may see charges against him dropped within months, court documents recently obtained by The Sun show.
Jinsoo Kim, who was formerly a member of the Class of 2014, was arrested on Oct. 1 in connection with the trespassing incidents. He was charged in the Ithaca City Court with criminal trespassing in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor.
As of Oct. 17, Kim was no longer registered as a Cornell student, according to the University Registrar.
After appearing in court Feb. 27, Kim was given a conditional discharge: a sentence showing that the court thinks neither “public interest nor the ends of justice” would benefit from Kim being imprisoned or supervised under probation, according to New York State penal law.
If Kim does not commit another crime in the next few months, the charges against him will be dismissed on Aug. 30, said Ronna Collins, chief clerk at the Ithaca City Court.
The trespassing incidents, which occurred on the heels of several reported sexual attacks on or near campus, prompted Cornell Police to warn students to lock their doors and windows. It also spurred one resident of 312 College Ave. — who did not know Kim lived merely doors away from her — to express concern about people “piggyback[ing]” behind others to enter the building.
But in the cases of the two female students whose apartments were broken into, the threat did not come from strangers entering the building — it was posed by someone living in the apartment complex itself.
Kim said to Ithaca Police that late at night on Sept. 16, he entered the apartment of a female student on the third floor of 312 College Ave. He walked into her bedroom, causing her to scream at him, and then fled back to his apartment on the fourth floor.
Before two weeks had elapsed, on Sept. 28, Kim allegedly broke into another apartment — one on the fourth floor, just next to his own apartment. Again, after being confronted by a female resident in the apartment, Kim fled back to his apartment.
At the time of Kim’s arrest, Ithaca Police said it was also investigating whether or not Kim was behind an additional series of trespassing incidents at 312 College Ave. dating back to April. In all the reports, the victims, who were female residents, said they saw an Asian male enter their apartments.
Original Author: Akane Otani