A New York district attorney is reopening an investigation into allegations that a Cornell University student was drugged and gang raped by seven fraternity members in 2024, nearly two years after prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office intends to present the case to a grand jury following the filing of a civil lawsuit this month that contains new allegations about the incident, according to a statement provided to ABC News.
“It’s our intention to present the case to the Tompkins County grand jury with Jane Doe’s cooperation,” Van Houten told the outlet. “We want to reexamine whether there’s additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024, that exists now that would change our assessment of the case and would result in the grand jury finding that there was criminal conduct.”
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court filings, submitted a 101-page lawsuit Sept. 14 against Cornell, several fraternity and sorority organizations, a local bar, and seven current or former students. She alleges she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024, when she was 20.
According to the lawsuit, Doe had been drinking before arriving at the fraternity house to meet a friend. She alleges fraternity members pressured her into taking a substance they described as ketamine and sexually assaulted her while she was incapacitated. During the alleged assault, one of the fraternity members, Johnathan Newell, is accused of encouraging more of his brothers to join him. He allegedly sent a Snapchat message at 1:42 a.m. to a group chat of members about “free p***y” upstairs.
Doe alleged that the defendants snorted ketamine off her body and forced her to do the same off theirs.
The Chi Phi members named in the lawsuit as defendants are Newell, Matthew Ingalls, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar.
Doe reported the incident to Cornell University Police in November 2024. The Chi Phi chapter was subsequently barred from campus, but no criminal charges were filed. The seven Chi Phi members named in the lawsuit were suspended but were allowed to continue their education at the university following a Title XI investigation, the findings of which have not been released, according to the Cornell Sun.
Van Houten said the allegations contained in the new lawsuit are “dramatically different” from the account provided to police in 2024 by Doe. He said the original statement did not allege that Doe was unknowingly drugged, forced into sexual activity, or incapacitated. His office relied on Cornell police’s investigation and did not conduct an independent investigation.
Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, disputed that characterization to ABC News and said authorities failed to follow up with his client adequately. Guiffra also said authorities were provided with a fraternity Snapchat group chat in 2024 that discussed the alleged gang rape, while Van Houten said prosecutors never received it.
Kyle Kimball, vice president for Cornell University Relations, said in a statement that the institution supports Van Houten’s plans to reopen the investigation.
“Cornell University supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity sexual assault case to be heard by a criminal grand jury,” Kimball said.
Kimball also defended the university’s Title XI investigation into the incident, which he said ended with expulsions and suspensions.
HOW MS. RACHEL WENT FROM BELOVED CHILDREN’S STREAMING SENSATION TO ‘MOUTHPIECE FOR HAMAS’
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Kimball said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
At least two defendants have publicly denied wrongdoing. An attorney for Kretzschmar said his client never sexually assaulted or touched Doe, while Norris denied participating in sexual activity or drug use.