Former Cornell student alleges fraternity gang rape as DA reopens criminal probe

ITHACA, N.Y. — New details are surfacing in the case of a former Cornell University student who says she was drugged and gang-raped for hours inside a fraternity house in October 2024.

The woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, was 20 at the time of the alleged attack. She recently filed a civil lawsuit against seven then-members of Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity chapter and the university, accusing them of failing to protect her and prevent the alleged assault. Cornell conducted an internal investigation, but no criminal charges were filed at the time.

On Monday, the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office confirmed it is reopening the criminal investigation amid community pressure and will present evidence to a grand jury. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the woman's sworn statement from November 2024 differed from the allegations in the civil lawsuit. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said investigators never followed up on her allegations.

What the lawsuit alleges

According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe visited a friend at the Chi Phi house while she was already intoxicated. She alleges two fraternity members pressured her into taking what they said was ketamine, then sexually assaulted her.

The suit says that around 1:42 a.m. on the night in question, one fraternity member sent a crude message to a Chi Phi Snapchat group chat suggesting a woman upstairs was available for sex. Jane Doe alleges more men entered the room and the assaults continued until 5:45 a.m.

She reported the alleged rapes to Cornell University police three weeks later.

"Once she was emotionally ready, she went to the University police and bravely shared what had occurred to her. She went to the police because she believed that she was the victim of a crime," Giuffra said in a statement to CBS News.

He added that aside from her initial contact with Cornell police, she was not contacted by investigators from the district attorney's office or by investigators trained in interviewing rape survivors.

After she filed the campus police report, Cornell conducted an internal review. Giuffra told CBS News New York that two fraternity members were expelled while five others received lesser sanctions, including suspensions, workshops and essays.

"Not one of these guys was arrested. Not one. That I can tell you for a fact," Giuffra said, adding that Jane Doe dropped out of Cornell after the alleged assault.

Cornell disputed the suggestion that some of the accused were punished only with essays. "None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement," the university said.

The lawsuit accuses Cornell and the other defendants of breach of contract, negligence and violations of state law. Jane Doe is seeking monetary damages, including compensatory and punitive damages, though the suit does not specify an amount.

Cornell defends Title IX process

Cornell said it conducted a thorough Title IX investigation over several months into the former student's allegations. Title IX is the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs receiving federal funding, and it governs how universities respond to reports of sexual misconduct.

"After investigation, and pursuant to federal law, the matter was sent to a hearing where a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days," Cornell said in a statement. "The complainant and respondents had the opportunity to testify and present evidence."

The university said the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions against the accused students, including expulsions and suspensions from Cornell. The Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.

"Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false," Cornell said. "A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault."

The Ithaca Police Department told CBS New York that the alleged incident was never reported to its agency.

Differing accounts

The Tompkins County District Attorney's Office confirmed on Sept. 28 that it would reopen the criminal investigation after being "asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges" against the then-fraternity members.

Van Houten said the civil lawsuit's allegations differ from Jane Doe's November 2024 sworn statement. He said her 2024 statement "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang 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," Van Houten said. "My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later."

Giuffra disputed that Jane Doe spoke with district attorney investigators after reporting the alleged assault to Cornell police. "Interviewing a survivor is a challenging process that takes a lot of time and experience," he said. "It is never easy for a survivor to share details of an assault with a stranger. Trust must be developed and a lot of time spent learning the facts and engaging with the survivor."

He added, "It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint."

Van Houten said he was never contacted by her attorneys to inform him the original statement was inaccurate or to ask him to reconsider the decision not to pursue criminal charges. He said he reached out to Jane Doe's attorneys after the lawsuit was filed to understand the discrepancy and the proper path forward.

Van Houten said he has begun reopening the investigation, including speaking with Jane Doe and her attorneys. Once appropriate charges are determined, he said, the case will go to the Tompkins County Grand Jury.

"The Grand Jury will be able to consider the testimony of Jane Doe as well as any new evidence raised by the allegations of the civil complaint," his statement said. "Upon a vote by the Grand Jury to indict any or all of the individuals involved, this office will prosecute the charges zealously and to the fullest extent of the law."

Giuffra told CBS News that he welcomes the reopening of the criminal investigation, calling it "a step in the right direction, albeit a late one." He added, "However, I hope that the DA will recognize the need to thoroughly present and investigate the case and develop what leads they can notwithstanding the delays. My client and I would be very disappointed if it is a half-hearted effort."

Cornell said it supports the district attorney's decision to reopen the case.

The case has renewed scrutiny on how universities and local prosecutors handle sexual assault allegations, especially when campus Title IX proceedings and criminal investigations reach different conclusions. A grand jury will determine whether there is enough evidence to indict any of the accused. The civil lawsuit will proceed separately, where the burden of proof is lower than in a criminal case.

Defense response

The lawsuit identifies one of the accused former fraternity members as Scott Kretzchmar, who allegedly sent two responses in the Snapchat group.

His defense attorney, Jeremy Saland, acknowledged to CBS News that the messages were inappropriate but said they are not evidence of sexual assault. "This is a situation where there was an ugly Snapchat — ugly, period. ... But that doesn't make my client a rapist and it certainly doesn't make anyone a sex offender," Saland said.

Saland said Kretzchmar briefly entered the room where the woman was, in response to the message "that many people have seen," and did not touch her "in any way, shape or form" before leaving within minutes.

"She was not incoherent but in fact was coherent and again left that room without touching her or having any physical interaction whatsoever," Saland said.

The attorney said the university found Kretzchmar was not responsible for anything alleged in Jane Doe's complaint. As for the ketamine allegation, Saland said Kretzchmar took a hair follicle test that found no ketamine in his system.

"We certainly would present evidence of the hair follicle test which demonstrably and scientifically shows that he did not ingest ketamine as alleged by the complainant," he said.

Saland said no one has contacted him about a renewed investigation, but "we welcome the opportunity." He added, "We are available to present exonerating evidence. I just hope the right thing is eventually done, this case is closed, and my client can live his life and not be subject to this selfish, repugnant, vile claim by this woman about him."

CBS News has reached out to the other defendants named in the civil lawsuit.

Lilia Luciano, Kinjal Patel and Mahsa Saeidi contributed to this report.