Former Cornell Student Files Civil Suit Over Alleged Fraternity Rape; Criminal Probe Reopened

A former Cornell student, referred to as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026 against seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity, the university and related parties, alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted at the fraternity house on the night of Oct. 19, 2024. The complaint cites text messages, a Snapchat group screenshot and transcripts from a campus police interview that detail her account.

According to the lawsuit, Doe drank vodka at a sorority house, then traveled by Uber to downtown Ithaca bars where she continued to consume alcohol while underage. She arrived at the Chi Phi house around 11 p.m., initially engaging in consensual sex with two men she knew. She later said she was pressured to take ketamine, became incapacitated, and was forced to have sex with multiple men. Doe reported losing consciousness at about 5:45 a.m. on Oct. 20.

After the incident, Doe visited Cornell Health on Oct. 22 for a urinary-tract infection and was tested for sexually transmitted infections. Her attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, said she was not immediately offered a rape kit and that by the time a kit was obtained on Nov. 7, DNA evidence had degraded.

Text messages exchanged in the days following the alleged assault show a defendant apologizing for “how things went down,” while Doe described her memory as “super clouded” and later asserted that “90% of what happened that night was not consensual.” She also expressed that the episode was “ruining my life temporarily.”

Doe reported the assault to Cornell University Police on Nov. 8, prompting the university to suspend the Chi Phi chapter and temporarily suspend the seven men while it conducted a Title IX investigation. The internal review resulted in two expulsions, two suspensions of at least two semesters, one graduate who could not be punished, and two men found not responsible for sexual misconduct. No criminal charges were filed at that time.

On Sept. 28, 2026, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced the criminal investigation would be reopened. He said he had not seen the sworn six-page statement in which Doe said she had “100% confidence” she was raped and emphasized the need for an independent review. Cornell confirmed that its police department had provided the victim’s statement and the Snapchat screenshot to the DA’s office.

"If that kind of thing was omitted from a statement, if it is true, it needs to be fully investigated by someone outside of Cornell," Van Houten told CBS News New York.

Doe’s lawyer says she left Cornell after the incident. The lawsuit seeks damages for alleged failures by the university and fraternity members to protect her.