What We Know About the "Cornell 7"

This article includes vulgar language and discussion about sexual violence that may be triggering for some audiences.

District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has decided to reopen the Jane Doe v. Cornell University investigation, causing major public attention.

Former 20-year-old Cornell University student, referred to as Jane Doe, alleges that in October 2024, she was drugged and gang-raped by 7 members of Chi Phi Fraternity, including Diego Sarabia, Winston Lee, Scott Norris, Matthew Ingalls, Gilio Lopes, Johnathan Newell, and Scott Kretzschmar, whose names were stated in Doe’s civil lawsuit.

Allegedly, Doe states that she went to the fraternity house at 11:00 PM after she and her sorority members went to another bar in the area around 10:00 PM. Already intoxicated with one of the “Cornell 7” perpetrators, she was coerced into snorting the drug the men stated was Ketamine. Doe then states that during the assault, one of the perpetrators sent a message to the Chi Phi Fraternity Snapchat group that there was “free p*ssy upstairs,” so more men could participate in the rape. The men were drawn by the message sent at 1:42 AM, which used vulgar terms to advertise that a woman’s body was freely available. Later, another member asked if the “shop” was still open and said that the men could “walk in and whip it out.”

Van Houten released a statement about the reopening of the case on September 28, 2026, and explained in the document how they “came to the decision that criminal charges in this case were not applicable” and that the allegations in the civil complaint are “dramatically different” from Doe’s statement to the police 2 years ago. Doe’s statement to the authorities did not allege she was drugged without her knowledge or that she did not consent to sexual activities.

No one has faced criminal charges for this attack.

Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was banned from campus after the allegations. Cornell has expelled 2 out of the 7, while the rest were briefly suspended or made to write essays and attend workshops. This caused public outrage towards Cornell, and Doe has left the university after the attack.

In the DA’s statement on this case, Van Houten states, “the facts provided by Jane Doe’s statement do not allege that any person used physical force to compel Jane Doe to engage in sexual conduct” and that “Jane Doe’s statement does not allege that she was either rendered incapable of controlling her own conduct or that any drug was administered to her without her consent,” even when she stated that her intoxication levels were increasing throughout the night, as high as an “8 out of 10,” as Doe states. Van Houten then explains that “the facts provided by Jane Doe’s statement do not allege that she was rendered unconscious…there is no evidence in the statement that Jane Doe was unconscious or unable to communicate.”

The DA has decided to reopen the case on the basis that Doe’s 101-page civil lawsuit includes evidence that was not originally included in Cornell’s police investigation, where Doe’s attorney attributes this to their improper training on how to interview and question a victim of sexual assault

New evidence not raised in the 2024 investigation will be presented to the Tompkins County Grand Jury, which Van Houten and his team are actively preparing for. Here, the “grand jury will be able to consider the testimony of Jane Doe as well as any new evidence raised by allegations in the civil complaint,” as Van Houten states.

As of right now, Cornell University has said that its police department shared the victim’s 6-page statement and the Snapchat screenshot with the DA’s office. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says Cornell has agreed to hire outside counsel for an independent investigation, and she appointed State Attorney General Letitia James as Special Prosecutor in the case.

Out of solidarity for Jane Doe, #IAmJaneDoe has been trending on social media to support the survivor. There have been people online doxxing who Jane Doe is as an attempt to deter her from moving forward with the lawsuit.

“She’s received multiple threats, and women who aren’t even Jane Doe have received threats,” Giuffra said. “The threats, the abuse to protect what’s going on, the status quo–these guys are disgusting.”