A criminal investigation into allegations that a former Cornell University student was drugged and sexually assaulted by several fraternity members has been reopened, the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office has said.
The woman, known in court documents as Jane Doe, was 20 when she says the alleged assault took place inside the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. She has since filed a civil lawsuit against seven former fraternity members and Cornell, accusing them of failing to protect her.
No criminal charges were brought at the time. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the case would now be presented to a grand jury after community pressure and the filing of the civil claim.
Allegations in the civil lawsuit
Jane Doe alleges that she visited a friend at the fraternity house while already intoxicated and was pressured by two members to take what she was told was ketamine.
She claims she was then sexually assaulted, with further men entering the room after a message was sent to a Chi Phi Snapchat group at about 1.42am. The lawsuit alleges the assaults continued until around 5.45am.
The woman reported the alleged incident to Cornell’s police department three weeks later, after she said she was emotionally ready to do so. Her lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said she was not subsequently interviewed by investigators from the district attorney’s office or by specialists trained to speak to rape survivors.
Cornell carried out an internal Title IX investigation over several months. The university said a hearing panel heard evidence from the complainant and the accused students and imposed sanctions including expulsions and suspensions.
The Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus. Cornell rejected claims that some of the students faced only minor penalties, saying: “None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement.”
Jane Doe’s lawsuit accuses Cornell and the former fraternity members of negligence, breach of contract and violations of state law. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, although no sum has been specified.
District attorney cites differences between accounts
Mr Van Houten said Jane Doe’s sworn statement from November 2024 differed from the account set out in the civil lawsuit. He said the earlier statement did not allege that she had been drugged against her will or raped by multiple men.
“On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual,” he said.
Mr Giuffra disputes that investigators from the district attorney’s office properly followed up with his client. He said it was difficult to understand how a “thorough criminal investigation” could have taken place when she had spoken only to the officer who initially recorded her complaint.
Mr Van Houten said he had not been contacted by Jane Doe’s lawyers to say that her original statement was inaccurate or to ask him to reconsider the decision not to bring charges. He said he had contacted them after the lawsuit was filed to understand the differences between the two accounts.
He has begun the process of reopening the criminal investigation, including speaking to Jane Doe and her lawyers. The grand jury will consider her evidence and any new material arising from the civil complaint, he said.
Mr Giuffra welcomed the decision as “a step in the right direction, albeit a late one”, but said he hoped the investigation would be conducted fully and would not be “a half-hearted effort”. Cornell said it supported the reopening of the case.
Accused men deny allegations
Several of the former fraternity members have denied the claims. Jeremy Saland, who represents Scott Kretzchmar, said his client acknowledged that messages sent on Snapchat were inappropriate but denied entering into any sexual contact with Jane Doe.
Mr Saland said Mr Kretzchmar entered the room briefly after seeing the message, did not touch the woman and left within minutes. He also said a hair follicle test showed that his client had no ketamine in his system.
Andrew Miltenberg, representing another defendant, Gillio Lopes, said his client “unequivocally denies the allegations against him”. He added that accusations were not proof and that Mr Lopes should be judged on evidence through the legal process.
The Ithaca Police Department said the alleged incident had not been reported to it. The other defendants named in the civil lawsuit have been approached for comment.
