Correction appended
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.
A Cornell junior has been accused of breaking into an apartment of female students at 312 College Ave., according to a statement released Tuesday by the Ithaca Police Department.
Jinsoo Kim ’14 was arrested by the Ithaca Police Department Monday in connection with the alleged incident.
On Sept. 30, the IPD received a trespassing complaint at 312 College Ave. in relation to an incident that had occurred on Sept. 28. Further investigation revealed Kim as a suspect in the crimes, IPD reported.
Kim was arraigned in the City of Ithaca Court. He was released pending further court action.
Throughout the spring, a series of similar complaints were filed by residents of different apartments at 312 College Ave. All reported an Asian male entering apartments occupied by female residents, according to IPD.
Police are investigating whether Kim was involved in these other incidents, according to Dave Honan, deputy chief of CUPD.
On April 1, IPD responded to a call for trespassing at 312 College Ave. The suspect, described as an Asian male, fled when confronted by a resident of the apartment he was attempting to enter, according to IPD.
Another such incident occurred at 2:45 a.m. on May 4, when an Asian male entered the unlocked apartment of two female students. Once inside, he confronted one resident, who was awake in her room and ordered the male to leave the apartment, according to IPD.
The suspect then returned to the living room, where he found the second female resident asleep. He then touched her “inappropriately” until she “yelled at him and he fled the apartment,” according to IPD.
Meredith Mitnick ’14, who lives in an apartment at 312 College Ave., said she found the incidents to be “terrible and scary.”
Though Mitnick said residents must swipe a card to gain entry to the apartment complex, she often sees students who do not live at 312 College Ave. “piggyback” behind residents at entrances.
“I think the building is safe,” Mitnick said. “But this shows how important it is to lock doors.”
In the wake of the incidents, CUPD urged students, including residents of 312 College Ave., to consider increased personal safety measures.
“What students at 312 College Ave. and any other residence can do is improve their personal safety measures such as locking their doors and windows,” Honan said. “You can also help the police by immediately calling 911 if you see anything suspicious.”
Honan added that IPD and CUPD will be working together to investigate the incidents.
“This is just one example of the regular collaboration between [IPD and CUPD] in order to investigate and ultimately make arrests for crimes that affect our community,” Honan said.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is urged to call IPD at 607-272-3245 or CUPD at 607-255-1113.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of charges on which Jinsoo Kim ’14 was arrested. While he was a suspect in multiple break-ins, Kim was arrested in connection with only one break-in, which occurred on Sept. 28.
Original Author: Kerry Close