New York Prosecutors Reopen Cornell University Gang Rape Investigation Following Civil Lawsuit

New York state prosecutors have reopened an investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University after a survivor filed a civil lawsuit accusing both the school and law enforcement of failing to take adequate action.

Court documents filed on September 16 included screenshots of a Snapchat group chat purportedly between members of the university fraternity at the centre of the allegations. The plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, alleged that she was drugged and raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024.

The case has triggered significant public anger on social media directed at Cornell University and the District Attorney’s Office in Tompkins County, New York, regarding their initial handling of the accusations. On Monday, District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced in a statement that although his office initially concluded that evidence from the complainant's early statement did not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges, the matter will now be presented to a grand jury.

“Once we determine the appropriate charges, the case will be prosecuted in the most objective and impartial means available – by testimony to the Tompkins County grand jury,” Van Houten stated.

According to the 101-page lawsuit, the complainant visited a friend at the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, on October 19, 2024, after consuming alcohol at a local, off-campus bar. She stated that two fraternity members propositioned her and pressured her into taking ketamine and smoking marijuana.

Doe, who was 20 at the time, alleged she was subsequently raped by seven men at the fraternity house over a seven-hour period before losing consciousness around 5:45am. The lawsuit notes that she was unable to give consent due to her intoxication. Although she reported the incident to the university’s police department on November 8, 2024, prosecutors initially filed no criminal charges.

In a statement to CBS News, Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, stated that his client approached the police believing she was the victim of a crime. He noted that apart from her initial contact with Cornell Police, she was not contacted by investigators from the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office or professionals trained in interviewing assault survivors. Giuffra added that Cornell expelled two fraternity members following an internal review, while five others faced lesser sanctions such as suspensions, workshops, and essay assignments, and that none were arrested. Doe subsequently dropped out of school.

The lawsuit names Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar as defendants, alongside Cornell University, the Chi Phi fraternity, the sorority Delta Delta Delta, and the off-campus bar. Doe is seeking monetary damages for breach of contract, negligence, and state law violations.

Legal representatives for the defendants have responded to the claims. Jeremy Saland, an attorney for Kretzschmar, acknowledged that the Snapchat messages were inappropriate but denied they constituted evidence of sexual assault, stating his client did not touch the victim. Andrew Miltenberg, representing Lopes, stated that his client unequivocally denies all allegations.

Cornell University issued a statement supporting the district attorney's decision to bring the case before a grand jury, noting that its own multi-month investigation resulted in serious disciplinary actions, including expulsions, suspensions, and the permanent closure of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024.

District Attorney Van Houten explained that Doe's initial November 2024 statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, which prevented charges at the time. However, he emphasized that prosecutors are willing to reconsider cases when additional evidence and civil filings come to light, noting that a senior female prosecutor experienced in sex crimes will prepare the matter for the grand jury.