Story summary
A Jane Doe, a former Cornell University student, filed a lawsuit in New York alleging she was drugged and gang-raped by seven fraternity members at the Chi Phi house on October 19, 2024. The complaint names Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar as defendants. After an initial investigation by the Tompkins County District Attorney’s office in late 2024, no criminal charges were filed.
Recently, following the filing of Doe's lawsuit, prosecutors have reopened their case to examine if new evidence warrants criminal charges. This decision was prompted by allegations that Doe suffered severe trauma and ongoing psychological issues, including anxiety and depression. The Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced plans to present the case to a grand jury, seeking to reevaluate any additional evidence that might have emerged since the initial investigation.
Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffre, claims his client remains profoundly affected by the ordeal and struggles with daily life due to her trauma. Cornell University and several fraternity organizations are also named in the lawsuit alongside individual defendants. The grand jury will review testimony from Jane Doe as well as any new evidence brought forward by the civil complaint before deciding on potential charges.
Written for “Cornell Gang Rape Case Reopened” on 2026-10-06,
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One of the former Cornell University fraternity brothers who was accused of gang rape claimed he had been too drunk to attack the alleged victim – and even suggested that she was the one who assaulted him.
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who → accuse → him
Matthew Ingalls, who was later suspended from the university, had invited the alleged victim – only identified in court documents as Jane Doe – to the Chi Phi fraternity house on October 19, 2024 when she claims she was drugged and raped.
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she → suspend → October
When university police then investigated Jane Doe's claim that she was raped, Ingalls said he was too intoxicated to consent to any sexual intercourse, according to records obtained by ABC News.
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he → investigate → News
He then even suggested that Jane Doe may have assaulted him.
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Doe → suggest → him
But in a phone call obtained by Cornell University police, Ingalls was heard insisting to the victim: 'You did tell me you were sober, by the way.'
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you → obtain → way
The audio showed differing recollections of the alleged attack, as Jane Doe told Ingalls that he 'already knew I was 10 shots deep' when he and six others allegedly sexually assaulted her.
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he → show → her
'If I wanted to take this somewhere, what y'all did would be classified as gang rape,' she told him in one message.
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she → want → message
Jane Doe also told Ingalls she had spent time in the emergency room and in therapy following the alleged assault in the fraternity house, because there was 'so much damage on my body and my brain.'
An alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a lawsuit in September claiming she was sexually assaulted in the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024
The accuser, only identified in court documents as Jane Doe, spoke with campus police on November 14.
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accuser → tell → November
Students are pictured walking past Cornell Police headquarters last week
Ingalls pleaded his innocence in the call with Jane Doe, telling her that she convinced him she was not intoxicated and 'hadn't been anywhere' that night, which she disputed.
Yet
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she → picture → which
Jane Doe could be heard in the audio asking Ingalls for details about the night, including how they ended up in a threesome in his fraternity house.
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they → hear → house
'So, you come in, say hi, and we start dancing for maybe like three to five minutes...
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we → come → minutes
And then I pop the question, you say yes,' he replied.
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he → pop → question
He said they 'didn't know who else to bring' into the threesome, so he found another man on the dancefloor who agreed, 'and then we go upstairs.'
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we → say → dancefloor
Jane Doe alleges that several more Chi Phi fraternity brothers then joined them in the room periodically and joined in, and she alleged in a civil lawsuit that they advertised 'free p***y' in a Snapchat group chat.
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they → allege → chat
In the audio, Jane Doe told Ingalls she did not remember who all of the men were during the encounter, and said she recalled four men in a bed at one point with more stood around them.
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more → tell → them
Ingalls responded: 'I have racked my brain for this mystery.
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I → respond → mystery
You know, it's possible that both of us, like, remember this and it's not true.'
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it → know → this
Jane Doe argued back to this, saying: 'No, because I remember looking up and being like, 'That is too many people.'
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That → argue → this
The lawsuit included alleged messages on Snapchat of Chi Phi fraternity members apparently discussing the incident and advertising 'free p***y'
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members → include → p***y
The audio showed that while Ingalls appeared to try and calm Jane Doe's feelings about the incident, he did not mention that he texted his fraternity group chat during the alleged assault, according to Jane Doe's lawsuit.
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he → show → lawsuit
He allegedly posted a photo of Jane Doe to the fraternity group chat, and said, 'Boys come whip it out', the lawsuit alleges.
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lawsuit → post → it
Jane Doe now claims in her lawsuit that seven men eventually participated and that Doe became 'completely incapacitated.'
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Doe → claim → lawsuit
She says the ordeal continued until around 5.45am, when she lost consciousness.
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she → say → consciousness
She then reported the allegations to Cornell University Police on November 8 after friends encouraged her to come forward, according to the lawsuit.
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friends → report → lawsuit
Cornell temporarily suspended the fraternity and seven students that day, but the lawsuit alleges that only Ingalls and one other attacker were expelled from the school while the others were asked only to submit essays.
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others → suspend → essays
Doe, meanwhile, dropped out of the school in the aftermath.
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Doe → drop → aftermath
Alongside Ingalls, the other Chi Phi fraternity brothers named by Jane Doe in her civil lawsuit are Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar.
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brothers → name → lawsuit
They have all denied any wrongdoing and have not been charged with a crime, as the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office cited 'insufficient evidence' following the school's 2024 investigation.
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Office → deny → investigation
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has since called on Attorney General Letitia James to lead a renewed criminal investigation, but before the decision was made, James posted on Facebook about the case.
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James → call → case
'What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.
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forced → force → What
We stand with you,' James wrote.
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James → stand → you
Because her statement was written as fact, Andrew Miltenberg, who represents defendant Lopes, believes that James should not be part of the new investigation.
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James → write → investigation
'There is nothing improper about expressing compassion for someone who reports a sexual assault.
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who → be → assault
But there is an important difference between supporting a person who makes an allegation and appearing to accept the factual premise of that allegation before conducting an investigation,' he told Fox News.
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he → be → News
Miltenberg further suggested that James should recuse herself from the probe and have another senior prosecutor who has not commented on the case handle the investigation.
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who → suggest → investigation
'That would not weaken the investigation.
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That → weaken → investigation
It would strengthen it,' the attorney told the outlet.
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attorney → strengthen → outlet
Miltenberg expressed similar concerns about James while speaking to NewsNation's Chris Cuomo about the case that garnered national attention.
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that → express → attention
'I think we have great concern as to Attorney General James being in charge because of the position she publicly took and publicized at the outset - before she was named special prosecutor,' Miltenberg told Cuomo.
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Miltenberg → think → Cuomo
'I don't know how any of these boys can get a fair investigation and a fair shake at this point,' he added.
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he → know → point
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