A former Cornell University student sued the university and several students on Sept. 16 over an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house in 2024.
The student, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, alleged that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her on Oct. 19, 2024. The lawsuit reopened an investigation into the incident and brought new scrutiny of how Cornell handles sexual assault allegations.
In her complaint, Doe also accused the university of failing to implement and follow policies preventing sexual assault on campus, failing to maintain a safe campus environment and violating New York State laws.
According to the lawsuit, Doe drank vodka at her sorority house before attending a Tri-Delta event at a local bar. She later became intoxicated and took an Uber to the bar, where she was served more alcohol despite being underage.
Around 10 p.m., Doe and other sorority members walked to a second bar. She left alone an hour later and walked to the Chi Phi fraternity house to visit her friend Matthew Ingalls, who is named as a defendant.
The lawsuit alleged that Ingalls gave Doe a beer when she arrived and they danced together before he proposed having a threesome involving her and another fraternity member. Doe was allegedly “incapable of consenting to this proposition” as she was led to another room, where she was pressured into snorting ketamine and drinking more alcohol.
Multiple members then allegedly engaged in acts of sexual assault following a message sent to the fraternity’s Snapchat group chat until 5:45 a.m.
Doe went to an emergency room and requested a rape kit a few days later.
She reported the incident to the Cornell University Police Department, where Chi Phi was placed on a temporary suspension. Temporary suspensions were also issued for the seven defendants, who were given the opportunity to lessen their conduct by submitting essays to the university.
In January 2025, Cornell began a Title IX investigation. Throughout May 2025, the Title IX Office conducted at least 12 hearings and more than 50 interviews, including interviews with six of the seven defendants, according to documents obtained by CNN.
“I can say with 100% confidence I was raped,” Doe said in an interview conducted by a campus police investigator, according to a transcript obtained by CBS.
According to summaries of the defendants’ punishments obtained by The New York Times, two of the fraternity members were expelled, two were suspended, one who had already graduated was banned from campus and the rest faced lighter punishments. Cornell also banned Chi Phi from campus.
All seven defendants have denied wrongdoing and have not been charged.
“In the aftermath, I was deeply disappointed by the lack of support I received from the student community,” Doe told The Cornell Daily Sun. “What I experienced was already devastating, but that pain was compounded by being criticized and ostracized at a time when I needed compassion, support and care the most.”
Back in 2024, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to review additional evidence gathered by Cornell police besides a six-page statement signed by Doe that was compiled from her interviews.
Van Houten has since defended his decision, saying Doe did not allege that she was drugged or gang raped against her will in her November 2023 statement.
“On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual,” Van Houten said in a statement. “My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later.”
Van Houten told ABC News on Sept. 28 that his office would reopen the investigation into the alleged assault and is considering whether they should bring criminal charges that are related to the incident.
That same day, Kyle Kimball, Cornell’s vice president for university relations, released a statement on behalf of Cornell supporting Van Houten’s decision to reopen the case, but pushing back against some claims that have been made.
“None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” Kimball said. “Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul has issued an executive order on Oct. 1, appointing New York Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor in the case. Special prosecutors are appointed to avoid any potential conflicts of interest and will investigate the incident and prosecute any offenses arising from the investigation.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly,” James said in a statement. “The Governor has entrusted my office with this investigation, and we do not take that responsibility lightly.”
A “Justice for Survivors” protest also took place on Cornell’s campus on Oct. 5, which was planned by the student organization Students for a Democratic Cornell along with over 20 other student organizations.
Thousands of Cornell students and faculty gathered, wearing name tags reading “Jane Doe” and purple ribbons to show their solidarity with sexual assault survivors.
The protesters called for the university to change its policies for responding to sexual assault reports. “I think if you’re not angry there’s something wrong,” Quin Lewis, a sophomore at Cornell, told The New York Times. “Everyone is watching — Cornell has the opportunity to make change.”
