Jonathan Newell was listed as a trained event monitor for a Cornell University fraternity party where a woman alleges she was drugged and gang raped, despite later acknowledging that he was heavily intoxicated, according to confidential records.
The October 2024 event at the Chi Phi fraternity was registered under Cornell rules intended to promote safer parties. Paperwork submitted by the fraternity reportedly identified Newell as a trained event monitor.
Such monitors were expected to remain sober, wear distinctive clothing and be readily identifiable to police, paramedics and other guests in an emergency.
The woman, identified in a civil lawsuit as Jane Doe, has accused Newell of sending a Snapchat message reading “free p****y” to a Chi Phi group chat on the night of the alleged assault.
In a text exchange two days after the party, Newell reportedly told her: “me and Matt both feel like s*** for being too f***ed up to shut it down and kick people out before it got out of hand.”
In the same conversation, Jane Doe referred to doing a line of ketamine off Newell’s penis that night. He replied: “I have no memory of that.”
Newell also said he had been “f***ed up” at the party and wrote: “had I been less f***ed 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.”
