A former Cornell University student, who is identified only as Jane Doe, has initiated a civil lawsuit against the university and seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity. The legal action follows allegations that she was drugged and subjected to a gang rape spanning several hours inside a campus fraternity house in October 2024. At the time of the reported incident, the woman was 20 years old.
The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday, Sept. 28, that it is reopening the criminal investigation into the matter. Officials indicated that this decision came amid significant community pressure and that prosecutors intend to present available evidence to a grand jury for further review.
According to the civil complaint, the woman visited a friend at the Chi Phi house while already intoxicated. She alleges that two fraternity members pressured her into consuming a substance, after which additional men entered the room. The lawsuit claims that the alleged assaults continued from approximately 1:42 a.m. until 5:45 a.m. The legal filings also point to a message sent in a Chi Phi Snapchat group chat at 1:42 a.m., which used crude language to suggest that a woman in the house was available for sexual activity. She alleges they then sexually assaulted her.
Three weeks after the alleged incident, the woman filed a formal report with the Cornell University Police Department. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, stated that the woman contacted campus police as soon as she felt emotionally capable of recounting the events, noting that she believed she was the victim of a crime. However, Giuffra has criticized the lack of follow-up, asserting that outside of the initial contact with university police, his client was never approached by the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office or any specialized investigators trained in sexual assault survivor interviews. According to that I can tell you for a fact,” Giuffra, New York, adding that the woman dropped out of the school after the alleged assault.
District Attorney Matthew Van Houten disputed the characterization of the investigation, stating in a late September interview that the sworn statement the woman provided in November 2024 differed from the claims presented in her civil suit. Van Houten emphasized that he had not been provided with the specific allegations regarding the Snapchat messages or other details mentioned in the lawsuit until recently. He stated that if such evidence exists, it must be thoroughly vetted. Not one of these guys was arrested.
Cornell University conducted an internal review following the initial campus police report. The university has maintained that it handled the case through its Title IX office, which resulted in a hearing before a panel of trained individuals. While the specific sanctions were not publicly detailed by the school, the university noted that the fraternity chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus. Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff confirmed to the student government that two students involved were suspended, rejecting claims that the only consequence for those involved was writing essays. Here is what we know about the case so far. According to giuffra, New York that two of the fraternity members were expelled, while five others received lesser sanctions including suspensions, workshops and writing essays. None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” the university said. 29 meeting with the student government that two of the accused were expelled, two suspended for at least two semesters, one had already graduated before any punishment could be handed down, and two were found not to be responsible for sexual misconduct.
The legal team for one accused student, identified as Kretzchmar, denied the allegations against him. His representative, Saland, argued that Kretzchmar only briefly entered the room in response to the group chat message and left minutes later without any physical contact or interaction with the woman. The attorney stated that the university’s own internal inquiry cleared Kretzchmar of the allegations presented in the complaint.
In response to the growing controversy, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Sept. 30 that Cornell has committed to bringing in outside legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive independent review of the situation. The university’s administration reiterated that it remains dedicated to complying with federal law and its established investigative protocols regarding student misconduct.
Despite the university’s stance, Giuffra maintains that the initial handling of the case was inadequate. He emphasized that no arrests were made at the time, telling reporters that his client has no confidence in the District Attorney’s office to lead an impartial inquiry into the events of that night. The case remains active as investigators prepare to bring the matter before a grand jury.
