A group of Cornell University fraternity brothers 'drugged' and gang-raped a female student during an hours-long attack inside their campus house after one sent a sickening Snapchat message summoning the other men upstairs, a new lawsuit claims.
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lawsuit → drug → men
The civil suit, filed Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, says the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, arrived at the Chi Phi house late on October 19, 2024, already heavily intoxicated after a night of drinking – only to be plied with more alcohol once inside.
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woman → file → alcohol
One fraternity member allegedly pulled Doe, then 20, aside and asked her to have a threesome with another male student.
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member → pull → student
Doe claims in the suit that she was already too intoxicated to consent, but was nevertheless taken upstairs into a room with the two men where she was allegedly pressured to snort ketamine, given marijuana and high-proof liquor and then sexually assaulted.
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she → claim → marijuana
At around 1.42am, one of the men allegedly posted to the fraternity's active-members Snapchat group saying that there was 'free p***y' upstairs, referring to Doe, according to the filing.
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one → post → filing
More fraternity members entered the room soon after and, according to the complaint, over the next four hours Doe was allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulted, sometimes by more than one person at a time, as she became increasingly incapacitated before eventually losing consciousness.
The lawsuit names seven defendants, who were all Cornell students and Chi Phi members at the time.
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who → enter → time
Through their attorney, one of the accused 'wholeheartedly' denied all of the allegations made by Doe.
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one → accuse → Doe
'We possess documents that thoroughly corroborate our position, including the plaintiff's own words, statements from other parties, and scientific evidence demonstrating that the claims against him are false,' the defendant's attorney told the Daily Mail.
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attorney → possess → Mail
We have contacted five of the six other defendants for comment but have not yet heard back; one could not be reached.
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one → contact → comment
One of the men allegedly posted to the fraternity's active-members Snapchat group saying that there was 'free p***y' upstairs, referring to Doe, according to the filing
Doe alleged the attack took place at at the Chi Phi house (above) late on October 19, 2024
Doe said in a sworn statement that the alleged ordeal ultimately forced her to leave Cornell and left her struggling with anxiety and depression.
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ordeal → post → anxiety
'What happened to me was devastating and humiliating,' she wrote, adding that she fears being identified could damage her relationships and career and 'permanently tarnish' the reputation she has worked to rebuild.
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she → happen → reputation
Cornell is also being sued.
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Cornell → sue → ?
Doe accuses the university of failing to protect her despite allegedly knowing of risks surrounding sexual violence and drug use in its Greek system.
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Doe → accuse → system
Doe reported the alleged attack to campus police on November 8, 2024, after being encouraged to come forward by friends, according to the lawsuit.
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Doe → report → lawsuit
Cornell temporarily suspended Chi Phi and the seven students before launching an investigation the following January.
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Cornell → suspend → investigation
The university held at least 12 hearings into the allegations in May 2025.
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university → hold → May
The lawsuit says that investigation has since concluded, though it does not reveal its findings or what disciplinary action, if any, was taken.
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it → say → action
The complaint says Ithaca police were still investigating the allegations at the time of filing.
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police → say → filing
It does not say that any of the seven men have been criminally charged.
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any → say → men
Repeated attempts to reach Ithaca and Cornell University Police were unsuccessful.
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attempts → reach → Ithaca
A spokesperson for the Tompkins County District Attorney's office told the Daily Mail that a criminal investigation into the accusations did not result in charges being brought against the seven men.
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charges → tell → men
An attorney for one of the accused also told the Daily Mail that his client has had no contact with law enforcement.
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client → accuse → enforcement
'[L]aw enforcement has never contacted us, nor has there ever been a finding of even probable cause,' he said.
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he → contact → cause
'If any investigation has been ongoing since 2024 or any time, we welcome the opportunity to be heard and are fully confident it will confirm absolutely no criminality on [my client's] part.'
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it → welcome → part
Doe's attorney said the apparent lack of contact with at least one of the accused only reinforced his doubts about the scope of the investigation.
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lack → say → investigation
'I don't think it was investigated at all, in any kind of meaningful way,' he said, adding that police did take a statement from Doe but claimed there was 'no meaningful follow-up.'
'I don't think it'd be a very big leap to think that there wasn't a particularly thorough investigation,' he said.
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he → think → Doe
A spokesperson for Cornell University declined to respond to a list of detailed questions, sharing only: 'We have no comment on this pending litigation.'
An investigation by the local DA's office led to no criminal charges being filed in the case
Across more than 100 pages, the lawsuit reconstructs the night of the alleged attack in granular detail - beginning hours before Doe ever reached the Chi Phi house.
Doe had been drinking vodka before heading to Moonies Bar & Nightclub at around 8.30pm, the complaint says.
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complaint → decline → 8.30pm
She was already intoxicated when she arrived at the downtown Ithaca bar, where a bouncer marked both of her hands with an 'X' to show she was under 21.
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she → arrive → 21
Despite that, Doe alleges she was served alcohol inside.
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she → allege → alcohol
She and several friends went on to another bar.
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She → go → bar
Then, at around 11pm, Doe became separated from the group and headed alone to the Chi Phi fraternity house to see a member whom the lawsuit describes as her friend.
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lawsuit → become → friend
The lawsuit says she 'stumbled' to the fraternity house and was visibly intoxicated when she arrived, having consumed the equivalent of roughly 10 standard drinks in the previous three hours.
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she → say → hours
Several fraternity members allegedly let her inside, where her friend greeted her with another beer before the pair began dancing.
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pair → let → beer
He later pulled Doe away from the main room and asked if she wanted to have a threesome with him and another fraternity member, according to the complaint.
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she → pull → complaint
Doe says she was already too drunk to consent but alleges she was led upstairs and eventually into a room where the second man was sitting on a couch.
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man → say → couch
There, the two men allegedly began passing around a plastic bag containing a white powder they identified as ketamine, the lawsuit claims.
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lawsuit → begin → ketamine
Doe says she had never taken the drug before but claims the pair pressured her into snorting it while also giving her marijuana and high-proof liquor.
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pair → say → marijuana
Soon afterwards, she alleges, the first sexual assault began.
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assault → allege → ?
The lawsuit claims one of the men forced Doe to perform oral sex while the other allegedly raped her, repeatedly slapping her hard enough to leave bruising.
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other → claim → bruising
One eventually stopped and went to sleep, the complaint claims, while the other allegedly continued trying to grope Doe even as she repeatedly pushed his hand away.
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she → stop → hand
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
