Former Georgia Tech fraternity president pleads guilty to rape

ATLANTA - A former Georgia Tech fraternity president pled guilty Friday to the rape of his former girlfriend.
Christian Kahf, 23, entered the plea in Fulton County Superior Court Friday morning in the middle of his trial.

After Kahf entered the plea, Judge Craig Schwall sentenced him to 20 years in prison with 7 to serve and the balance on probation. He also ordered Kahf not to have any contact with the victim or her family, and he will officially be place on the sex offender registry.

At sentencing, Judge Schnall told Kahf, “I think you’ve made a wise decision. A lot of hard work went into this plea and I applaud you for taking responsibility for your actions. You made some bad choices. but I also believe you can be rehabilitated and become a positive member of society.”

The plea came after the victim had testified Kahf raped her on several occasions while they dated.

The rape case that was prosecuted in Fulton County occurred on the victim’s 21st birthday in January 2016.

The victim and her friends went club-hopping in Atlanta. They took shots at each club, so Kahf was their designated driver. The party made its way back to Kahf’s fraternity on Georgia Tech’s campus. Early in the morning on January 30, 2016, found a place to sleep in the house. Kahf said she didn’t have any memories of the night, but when she awoke the next morning she felt like she had sex. The victim confronted Kahf and he admitted that he had sex with her. 

At the sentencing, she cried as she told Kahf, “At the age of 19, my virginity was forcibly taken by someone who I trusted with my life. The man who I called my boyfriend forcibly and unapologetically raped me.”

The former president of Georgia Tech’s Kappa Sigma fraternity seemed to have it all. He was a rising senior at Tech who traveled abroad and had a beautiful girlfriend, but it all ended in October 2017 when prosecutors said Kahf was at a Kappa Sigma Fraternity meeting and shared an intimate confession with his brothers.

"During that meeting, the defendant stands up and says ‘I'm a rapist.’ The people there who knew the defendant heard what he said and called the police," prosecutor Amy Ferguson told jurors during opening statements.

RELATED: Former Georgia Tech fraternity president on trial for rape

Fulton County prosecutors said it was Khaf's own fraternity brothers who turned him into police. Fraternity brothers who were in the room during Kahf’s admission said the defendant became very emotional and abruptly left after making this statement. Members of the fraternity called Georgia Tech Police to make the department aware of Kahf’s confession. 

Police Officer J. Gibbons interviewed Kahf after speaking to his fraternity brothers. At the time, the defendant denied raping anyone but did provide the names of his current girlfriend and ex-girlfriend.   
Police found the ex-girlfriend who was the victim in the case and she agreed to move forward with a rape charge. 

Officer Gibbons contacted Kahf’s ex-girlfriend who said the defendant had raped her at least seven times over the course of their relationship. The victim said she never reported the rapes to police because she was afraid they would not believe her. Kahf’s ex-girlfriend said she was a deeply religious woman who was saving her virginity for the man she married.

In their opening statements, the defense said this case centered around two young people who were exploring romance and sexuality but then, the female had regrets.

"This case is not about sexual assault; it is not about rape. It is about dysfunction and regret," defense attorney Suparna Malempati told jurors as she showed them pictures of the couple in several different settings and read love letter and cards the victim sent to Kahf.