Cornell sexual assault lawsuit prompts renewed criminal probe, scrutiny of university response

A lawsuit accusing seven Cornell University fraternity members of sexually assaulting a student in 2024 has triggered a renewed criminal investigation, an independent review of Cornell’s response and growing scrutiny of New York’s sexual assault laws.

The former student, identified in court as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit Sept. 16 in New York County Supreme Court. Her lawyers dated the complaint Sept. 14. The suit names Cornell University, seven current or former Chi Phi members, local and national Chi Phi entities, Delta Delta Delta organizations, Moonies Bar & Nightclub in Ithaca and other defendants.

Doe alleges she arrived at the Chi Phi house on Oct. 19, 2024, after drinking earlier that night. She says fraternity members gave her more alcohol, marijuana and ketamine and that several men engaged in sexual activity with her as her intoxication increased. She argues that she could not legally consent to the later activity. The complaint also reproduces what it describes as a Snapchat exchange in which a fraternity member alerted other members to sexual activity upstairs.

The lawsuit names Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar. It asserts 10 causes of action, including negligence, negligent supervision, breach of contract, violations of New York’s Human Rights Law and Education Law, sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and a claim under New York’s Dram Shop law. Doe asks a jury to award compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees where the law permits them and interest.

The men have not presented a unified defense in the civil docket. Attorneys for at least two have publicly denied the allegations. Jeremy Saland, who represents Kretzschmar, said his client made an inappropriate Snapchat comment but did not touch Doe, participate in sexual activity or take ketamine. He has cited a hair-follicle test that he says supports the drug-use denial; CBS News said it had not independently examined the test.

Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney for Lopes, said Lopes “unequivocally denies” the allegations and argued that the public should judge him on evidence rather than the complaint.

Internal Cornell records reviewed by The New York Times, according to Reuters, showed that the accused men denied wrongdoing and described the sexual activity as consensual, although some expressed concern about events that night. Chi Phi’s national organization said the Cornell chapter voted to remove members believed to have participated after Doe reported the incident and that the national organization later expelled them.

Van Houten said Cornell police gave Doe’s six-page sworn statement to his office in November 2024. He said the statement described some drug use and sexual activity as voluntary and did not establish forcible compulsion, involuntary drugging, physical helplessness or another legally sufficient basis for prosecution.

New York Penal Law Section 130.05 makes lack of consent an element of Article 130 sex offenses, while Section 130.00 defines “mentally incapacitated” in part through intoxication caused without the person’s consent.

Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, disputes the prosecutor’s characterization. He has said her 2024 account did not materially differ from the lawsuit and has argued that investigators failed to pursue the case adequately. ABC News later obtained her November statement and reported that Doe described part of the encounter as feeling coercive. Separate reporting on a Cornell police interview found that she told an investigator she felt certain she had been raped.

Cornell says its own process operated separately from the criminal system. The university says it conducted a months-long investigation and multi-day disciplinary hearing, used temporary restrictions and imposed sanctions that included suspensions and expulsions. Cornell also rejects claims that essay writing served as the sole punishment for any student. The university closed the Chi Phi chapter in 2024 and continues to bar it from campus.

Cornell also says it shared investigative material with prosecutors in 2024, a point that initially conflicted with public statements from the district attorney.

Public reaction has spread beyond the courtroom. Cornell’s Student Assembly introduced a resolution seeking greater transparency, aggregate disciplinary data, stronger protections for complainants and public forums on sexual violence. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Cornell’s response during a Sept. 27 Ithaca town hall. The Cornell Daily Sun’s editorial board also demanded greater disclosure, while a separate campus commentary warned against turning the allegations into an online spectacle.

Hochul called for an outside examination of Cornell’s response, and Cornell agreed Sept. 30 to retain outside counsel. The New York attorney general’s office has also begun reviewing Cornell’s handling of the matter. The civil lawsuit, the criminal investigation and those institutional reviews now proceed on separate tracks.