In the quiet college town of Ithaca, New York, a case that was once closed is being reopened — a reminder that justice is rarely a single moment, but a process shaped by what surfaces over time. A Cornell University student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members over the course of a single night in October 2024, a night whose full dimensions only became visible through private messages that investigators had never examined. The Tompkins County District Attorney, confronted with details dramatically unlike those in the original police report, has chosen to br
Cornell gang rape case reopened as fraternity chat messages surface
A student alleges she was drugged without consent and gang raped by multiple fraternity members for approximately seven hours, causing severe psychological trauma.
People process psychological trauma differently, and memories shift over time
Mark
So the original investigation found insufficient evidence, but now the same facts—or at least, the same alleged facts—are enough to reopen it. What changed?
Mimi
The group chat messages. They weren't examined the first time around. The woman's lawyer says they were never even looked at by investigators initially. When they surfaced in the lawsuit, the district attorney saw details that contradicted what she'd told police at the time.
Luke
But here's the thing—we don't actually know why those messages weren't examined before. Was it negligence? Were they not preserved? And the district attorney himself says people remember trauma differently. So is he reopening because the evidence is actually stronger, or because her account is now more detailed?
Mimi
Both, maybe. The messages do seem to corroborate her account—the language about "shop" and "free p***y" suggests the men were discussing her as an object. And one of them apologized two days later, saying he should have stopped it.
Luke
That apology is interesting, but we should be careful. An apology for "how things went" could mean a lot of things. It doesn't necessarily mean he's admitting to gang rape. His lawyer would probably say it was an apology for poor judgment, not for criminal conduct.
Mark
What about the ketamine? She says she was pressured into taking it for the first time. One of the defendants tested negative for it.
Mimi
Right, but a hair follicle test only shows whether someone used it themselves. It doesn't prove whether they gave it to her or not. And the test hasn't been independently verified anyway.
Luke
Exactly. We have one defendant's test result, but we don't know about the others. We don't know if anyone else was tested. The grand jury will have to sort through all of that.
Mark
So what happens now?
Mimi
The grand jury decides whether there's probable cause to charge them. If they do, the case goes to trial. If they don't, it's over.
Luke
And we should remember—none of these seven have been charged yet. They've all denied the allegations. The grand jury process is still ahead.
Der Puls
- A young woman alleges she was trapped, drugged, and sexually assaulted for seven hours by multiple fraternity members while unable to leave or call for help.
- Snapchat messages obtained by CBS New York — in which the woman is allegedly referred to as 'shop' and 'free p***y' — have fundamentally altered the evidentiary landscape of a case that was previously closed for lack of evidence.
- The district attorney, who initially declined to prosecute, now acknowledges the lawsuit revealed details so different from the original police report that the case demands grand jury review.
- All seven named students deny the allegations through legal counsel, with at least one lawyer pointing to a hair follicle test and a witness account suggesting his client's brief presence was innocuous.
- The Chi Phi chapter remains shuttered and banned from campus, while the university confirms disciplinary action has been taken — though it has not publicly disclosed the outcomes for individual students.
- The case now moves toward a grand jury, where the weight of new evidence will determine whether criminal charges are finally brought, more than a year after the alleged assault.
In the quiet college town of Ithaca, New York, a case that was once closed is being reopened — a reminder that justice is rarely a single moment, but a process shaped by what surfaces over time. A Cornell University student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members over the course of a single night in October 2024, a night whose full dimensions only became visible through private messages that investigators had never examined. The Tompkins County District Attorney, confronted with details dramatically unlike those in the original police report, has chosen to bring the matter before a grand jury — acknowledging that trauma does not always speak in a straight line, and that the pursuit of truth sometimes requires returning to where we thought we had already been.
On the night of October 19, 2024, a Cornell University student arrived at the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, to meet a friend. What unfolded over the next seven hours became the basis of a 101-page lawsuit naming seven fraternity members — and has now forced prosecutors to reconsider a case they had already closed.
The student, identified as Jane Doe, alleges she was heavily intoxicated when she arrived, pressured into taking ketamine for the first time, and subjected to sexual acts without her consent until nearly dawn. She says she felt unable to leave the room because her phone was out of reach. According to the lawsuit, fraternity members communicated through a Snapchat group chat in which she was allegedly referred to as 'shop' and 'free p***y.' Two days after the alleged assault, one of the named students allegedly messaged her to apologize for 'how things went,' saying he should have 'shut it down.'
When the case was first investigated, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten found insufficient evidence to prosecute. But the lawsuit introduced details — including the claims of forced ketamine use and gang rape — that he described as 'dramatically different' from what the student had initially told police. Her lawyer argues that critical evidence, including the group chat messages, was never examined during the original investigation. Van Houten has since acknowledged that trauma can shape how people remember and recount events over time.
The seven students named — Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar — all deny the allegations through their lawyers. One attorney argued his client briefly entered the room, saw nothing alarming, and left; another stated his client 'categorically denies' allegations that differ from what was originally investigated. None has been criminally charged.
Cornell University has supported the decision to reopen the case. The Chi Phi chapter was shut down in 2024 and remains barred from campus. The matter will now go before a grand jury, where prosecutors will present the evidence and seek a determination on whether charges should be filed — more than a year after the night in question.
On the night of October 19, 2024, a Cornell University student went to the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, to meet a friend. What happened over the next seven hours would lead to a lawsuit naming seven fraternity members, a closed investigation being reopened, and a case now headed to a grand jury.
The student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, arrived heavily intoxicated that evening. According to her 101-page lawsuit, she was asked whether she would consent to sex with two men despite being clearly unable to do so. She says she was pressured into taking ketamine for the first time, drank strong alcohol, and smoked cannabis. Members of the fraternity then allegedly carried out sexual acts without her consent until approximately 5:45 a.m. She felt trapped in the room, unable to leave because her phone was on the other side of it.
What has changed the trajectory of this case are messages from a Snapchat group chat among fraternity members, obtained by CBS New York and now part of the court filing. One member allegedly wrote "Shop still open?"—a reference to the student, according to the lawsuit. Another replied that it was. In earlier messages in the same conversation, one member allegedly wrote that there was "free p***y" upstairs, referring to the student. Another responded that he "loves Chi Phi," while a third wrote that someone could "just go and get him out." Two days after the alleged assault, one of the seven students named in the lawsuit allegedly messaged the woman to apologize for "how things went," saying he should have "shut it down and kicked people out before it got out of hand."
When the case was first investigated, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten decided not to press charges, concluding the evidence was insufficient to support prosecution. But the lawsuit presented what he described as "dramatically different" details than what the student had told police initially. Her original statement to authorities did not include claims that she had been drugged against her will or gang raped. Van Houten acknowledged that people process psychological trauma differently and may have different memories or interpretations of events over time. The woman's lawyer contends that the alleged assault was reported to both university police and Ithaca police, but that critical evidence—including the group chat messages—was never examined at that stage.
The seven students named in the lawsuit are Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar. None has been criminally charged. All have denied the allegations through their lawyers. Scott Kretzschmar's attorney rejected any suggestion his client participated in abuse, saying Kretzschmar saw the Snapchat messages, went to the room where the woman was, stayed for a few minutes, and left. While he was there, the lawyer said, the woman was clothed and did not appear to be under pressure. The lawyer also cited a hair follicle test that found no trace of ketamine in Kretzschmar's system, though the result has not been independently verified. Gillio Lopes's lawyer stated his client "categorically denies" the allegations, arguing they differ from what was originally investigated. According to the woman's account, Lopes sexually assaulted her and snorted ketamine off her body.
Cornell University has backed the district attorney's decision to reopen the investigation. The Chi Phi chapter was shut down in 2024 and remains barred from the Cornell campus. The university has not disclosed how many students were disciplined or their identities, though the woman's legal team maintains that two of the seven were expelled. The case will now go before a grand jury, where prosecutors will present the evidence and seek a determination on whether charges should be filed.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We all process psychological trauma differently. The woman may have different memories or interpretations of what happened.— Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten
He should have shut it down and kicked people out before it got out of hand.— One of the seven defendants, in an alleged message to the student two days after the incident
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