Text messages obtained by TMZ reveal conversations between Jane Doe from the "Cornell 7" case and one of the accused fraternity brothers, Jonathan Newell, days after the alleged incident. On October 21, 2024, Doe texts Newell saying she doesn’t think they should feel shame for what happened, stating “our body our choice.” Her attorney claims these messages were part of her processing the traumatic event and do not negate her later accusations of rape.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In October 2024, a female Cornell University student, referred to as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang-raped at a fraternity house. The case has sparked significant outrage among students, faculty, and alumni, with over 100 people attending a public hearing organized by the Student Assembly in January 2025 to discuss the university's handling of sexual assault cases. At the meeting, several speakers broke down in tears, criticizing Cornell’s response as inadequate and unsupportive. One student shared her own experience of being sexually assaulted two years prior, emphasizing the need for stronger support from the administration.
The lawsuit claims seven men were involved, but none have been criminally charged despite an initial investigation by campus police. According to Jane Doe's attorney, Thomas Guiffra, she was misled about the status of the criminal probe and believed it was still ongoing when in fact it had concluded without charges being filed. This misunderstanding has fueled further anger among the Cornell community over perceived mishandling of sexual assault cases.
Additionally, social media platforms have seen an outpouring of support for Jane Doe with many women posting under the hashtag #IAmJaneDoe to show solidarity and protect her identity from online harassment. The case highlights broader concerns about campus safety and accountability in handling such incidents at Cornell University and other prestigious institutions.
Written for “Cornell Gang Rape Controversy” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 156 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.15, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 67080: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-09
New screenshots of text messages between the “Cornell 7” Jane Doe and one of the accused frat brothers show her telling him, “I don’t think we should feel any shame” a day after the alleged gang rape, adding, “our body our choice.”
asserted
body → accuse → rape
Some of the texts from Oct. 21, 2024, between Doe and Jonathan Newell were previously reported — in which the alleged victim reassures Newell that the sex was consensual.
asserted
sex → report → Newell
Doe’s attorney dismissed the newly revealed screenshots as part of her processing what had happened on Oct. 20.
asserted
what → dismiss → Oct.
“This was part of the processing that she was going through, denial, shame and ultimately acceptance,” attorney Thomas Giuffra told The Post.
asserted
Giuffra → go → Post
The texts started on Oct. 21 — a day after Doe’s alleged rape at Cornell’s Chi Phi house — when Newell texted her apologizing for “how things went down” with her and student Matthew Ingalls, both of whom she later claimed plied her with ketamine during a threesome that devolved into a series of brothers arriving to take turns having sex with her.
asserted
that → start → her
“My memory’s kinda fuzzy abt a lot of it but me and Matt both feel like s–t for being too f–cked up to shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand,” Newell wrote, according to screenshots obtained by TMZ.
uncertain
Newell → ’ → TMZ
“You’re an amazing person and I genuinely hope ur not catching as much heat from this as we r,” he added.
asserted
he → ’re → this
“We’ve been shutting down any stories we’ve heard but again I’m so so sorry.”
asserted
I → shut → stories
Doe then responded with “aw jonathan i really appreciate this text.
asserted
i → respond → text
i think we were all way to f–king drunk and high.”
asserted
we → think → ?
She continued saying, “at the end of the day non of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly i really like being w u and matt.
asserted
i → continue → u
so anything anyone has to say about the gamgbang [sic] is out of their jurisdiction.”
asserted
anyone → have → jurisdiction
“I don’t think we should feel any shame for the part.
asserted
we → think → part
our body our choice asf,” she added, before alluding to other people getting involved in the sex she had with Ingalls and Newell.
asserted
she → add → Ingalls
“yall were both super out of it and they should have taken it on themselves to leave.
asserted
they → take → themselves
at the end of the day you, matt, and i were in your bed and they didn’t need to get up on that,” she wrote, finally consoling Newell again.
asserted
she → need → Newell
“if you have any regrets or anything you want to talk about i am always here to talk about it cause that was a lot,” Doe wrote.
asserted
Doe → have → it
“i really do love u and matt and i promise i wont get quiet and weird w u like i did last time.
asserted
i → love → u
”
And then things ramped up from there, with Doe recalling one of the more lewd moments of the night, TMZ reported.
asserted
TMZ → ramp → night
i’m not sure if u remember but i did ket off your d–k at some point? and i honestly think that was one of the most insane/jaw dropping moments of the night,” she wrote — with Newell responding that he had “no memory” of it.
asserted
he → ’m → it
Things deteriorated between the former friends in the ensuing three weeks — with Doe claiming it began to dawn on her that what happened that night was not consensual before she finally accused Newell, Ingalls and five others of rape and sexual assault.
asserted
she → deteriorate → rape
At the center of her claim was the alcohol and ketamine she was offered at the frat house when she went over that night, which she claimed left her so incapacitated that she became powerless to resist the group of brothers who started filing into the room to join in on the threesome.
uncertain
who → offer → threesome
And she let Newell know it by Nov. 3 — when she texted him, “let’s be clear that 90% of what happened that night was not consensual.”
asserted
what → let → him
“I was given more [ketamine] than i can remember and i know that i told u i felt uncomfortable and i didn’t know anyone in the room,” she added.
asserted
she → give → room
“all i remember after that was u giving me [ketamine] to do off your d–k in front of everyone like a sex/doll worker.”
asserted
u → remember → worker
Newell then reiterated that he had no memory of any of that happening, writing, “had I been less f**ked up and even somewhat aware of the situation and how out of hand it got, I would’ve shut it down the second guys started walking in the room.”
But the local Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office declined to bring any charges against the brothers, citing a statement from Doe provided by campus police which they claimed never accused anyone of rape and also showed she willingly ingested the alcohol and drugs throughout the night.
asserted
she → reiterate → night
The case exploded onto the headlines in September, however, when Doe sued the seven fraternity brothers with rape and sexual assault allegations.
asserted
Doe → explode → allegations
Her suit included a damning alleged group chat among Chi Phi brothers where Newell allegedly wrote there was “free p—y” upstairs — allegedly meaning Doe — and encouraged each other to go upstairs and to “whip it out” and join in on the sex.
uncertain
Newell → include → sex
It was that message which sparked the additional brothers filing upstairs and joining the sex, which Doe said amounted to rape.
asserted
Doe → spark → rape
Prosecutors have now begun investigating the case since it exploded across headlines last month and sparked public outcries for a reckoning of how sexual assault allegations are handled on college campuses.
asserted
allegations → begin → campuses
The Aporia
