A former Cornell University student filed a lawsuit this month alleging she was drugged and gang raped inside the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024, prompting prosecutors to reopen a criminal investigation into the incident.
The 101-page civil lawsuit, filed September 16, details allegations about what the woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, says occurred inside the fraternity house on the night of October 19, 2024. The lawsuit also addresses how Cornell University and local prosecutors in Ithaca, New York, handled the case following the initial report.
Doe is accusing seven members of the fraternity of participating in the assault while she was unable to consent. The Tompkins County District Attorney's Office announced Monday it reopened the case to seek a grand jury review after being "asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members," according to County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
Newly obtained text messages and social media communications provide additional details about the alleged incident. Screenshots of text messages exchanged just two days after the alleged assault show one of the accused men apologizing for "how things went down." In the messages, he stated his memory was "kinda fuzzy" and said he and another man felt bad for being too intoxicated to "shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand."
Additionally, CBS News New York obtained video of a group Snapchat conversation from the fraternity on the night of the alleged rape. At 1:42 a.m. on October 19, 2024, a message was sent to the group chat suggesting a woman was available for sex. Later, one fraternity member wrote "Shop still open?" to which another responded "Yea."
Van Houten said the victim's original statement to police does not match the claims detailed in the recently filed civil lawsuit. No criminal charges were initially filed against any of the seven fraternity members. Attorney Thomas Giuffra, representing the woman, stated that "not one of these guys was arrested."
The Chi Phi fraternity has been banned from Cornell's campus. Cornell University said it supports the investigation and has defended its handling of the initial report to campus police.
Van Houten's office indicated it would present evidence to a New York grand jury for review of whether criminal charges should be pursued against the accused fraternity members.