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Cornell frat student's message to friends before alleged sexually-assault on student with 6 others
A Cornell University student, who was reportedly one of those involved in the alleged gang-rape of a young woman, allegedly sent a shocking two-word message to his fraternity brothers shortly before they sexually assaulted their fellow student.
Prosecutors have now announced plans to revisit the allegations, which center on claims that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted a female student at their fraternity house.
The chilling two-word message sent by frat student before alleged gang rape
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office intends to take another look at the case following a civil lawsuit filed by the alleged survivor, identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
The 101-page lawsuit, filed on September 14, describes what the woman claims was a horrific night of sexual violence at the fraternity's Cornell house in Ithaca, New York, in 2024, with the defendants named as Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar.
According to the complaint, Newell allegedly sent a Snapchat to the 'Chi Phi Actives' group chat at around 1.42am, inviting other fraternity members to join after Doe had allegedly become severely impaired, with the message allegedly read: "free p***y".
Prosecutors reopen investigation into alleged sexual assault
Van Houten has now said prosecutors want to revisit the circumstances surrounding the allegations and potentially present the matter to a grand jury, claiming that 'it’s our intention to present the case to the Tompkins County grand jury with Jane Doe’s cooperation.'
He continued: "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."
Van Houten also acknowledged that his office had relied heavily on the investigation carried out by Cornell University Police, alleging that prosecutors did not 'independently investigate' the incident.
According to the district attorney, the group chat referred to in the lawsuit had not been provided to his office, but the lawyer representing Jane Doe, Thomas P. Giuffra, disputed that account and described the messages as a 'critical piece of evidence', saying authorities had received them around two years ago.
Giuffra also challenged Van Houten's description of Doe's original statement, arguing that investigators failed to properly follow up with her.
"In my experience, speaking with an abuse survivor requires delicacy, understanding and specialized training.
"An average University Police officer would not have these skills.
"It would be the role of a specially trained detective or district attorney. However, Ms. Doe was never contacted by anybody with those skills," he told the outlet.
He said Doe had approached Cornell University Police because she believed a crime had been committed.
"My client went to the Cornell University Police because a crime was committed. It was the obligation of the police to investigate the complaints. They were given the group chat inviting the members of the fraternity to rape my client," Giuffra said.
"This was a critical piece of evidence supporting that a crime had occurred. Despite this, there was no follow-up with Ms. Doe either by the Cornell Police or the Tompkins County District Attorney."
According to the lawsuit, Doe was 20 at the time and had initially gone out with friends from her sorority before eventually ending up at the fraternity house.
The complaint then alleges that she encountered Ingalls at the property and rejected an invitation to participate in a threesome with two other fraternity members.
It is then alleged that Ingalls pressured her to take ketamine, which the lawsuit says was the first time she had used the drug.
The complaint also alleges that she consumed marijuana and high-proof rum, before it was purported that Ingalls and Newell subsequently engaged in sexual acts with Doe without her consent.
It was during the alleged assault that Newell is accused of sending the Snapchat message to the fraternity group chat inviting them to partake, again, non-consensually.
The lawsuit claims that other fraternity members subsequently arrived and that ketamine was allegedly poured onto Doe's body before being snorted, with one alarming aspect detailing how Doe was supposedly forced to snort ketamine off one of the men’s penis.
The allegations were reported to campus and Ithaca police approximately a week after the alleged incident, according to the lawsuit.
While two of the fraternity members were eventually expelled, the remaining five only received suspensions and were later offered an opportunity to 'mitigate their conduct by submitting essays'.
The university has now confirmed that the Xi chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity is banned from campus, with the decision to revisit the case meaning prosecutors shall now examine whether additional evidence could warrant presenting the matter to a grand jury.