One of the seven Cornell University fraternity brothers named in a lawsuit alleging a gang rape in 2024 said he did not see the accuser in distress during his brief time in the room where she says she was sexually assaulted while she was under the influence of several substances.
asserted
she → name → substances
Scott Kretzschmar, now 22, said that after he saw a fraternity Snapchat post advertising “free p----y” upstairs, he went in the room already filled with several of his fraternity brothers — but that he never saw the woman naked, touched her or used ketamine.
asserted
woman → say → ketamine
Kretzschmar’s accounting of the evening was laid out in court documents he filed anonymously in Tompkins County, New York, Supreme Court in March in a last-ditch effort to annul Cornell’s decision to find him responsible for attempted sexual exploitation after its Title IX investigation.
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him → lay → investigation
In the failed petition, Kretzschmar argued that the school improperly found him responsible for an offense that was not on his original list of violations — and then denied his appeal earlier this year.
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that → fail → appeal
The court records, together with text messages separately obtained by NBC News between Jane Doe and another Chi Phi fraternity member she later accused of assault, provide further context for the October 2024 incident and its immediate aftermath.
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she → obtain → incident
The incident has reignited a national conversation about sexual assault and consent.
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incident → reignite → assault
“My reputation is destroyed and i’m utterly ashamed,” Jane Doe texted another fraternity member, four days after she alleges she was raped while she was under the influence of ketamine, marijuana and alcohol.
asserted
she → destroy → alcohol
“I’m f------g pissed cause this many people shouldn’t know and i feel like i know who some of the rats in the room were,” she wrote.
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she → ’m → room
“if i ever find out i swear to god its in sight.”
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i → find → sight
During the dayslong text exchange, Jane Doe fluctuated between anger over being the subject of campus gossip and sending friendly messages before she ultimately cut off communication the day before she reported her allegations to campus police.
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she → fluctuate → police
The report spurred a university investigation of seven Chi Phi members that culminated with a 12-day internal federal civil rights proceeding known as Title IX in May 2025, at which more than 30 witnesses testified following 50 investigative interviews, according to filings in Kretzschmar’s appeal.
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witnesses → spur → appeal
The investigation found that the night of the alleged assault, a photo of Jane Doe was shared among active Chi Phi members in a Snapchat group, the documents revealed.
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documents → find → group
The nature of the photo is not made clear in the court documents.
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nature → make → documents
“Are you guys at least naked?” a Snapchat message from an unknown user said after the photo was posted.
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photo → say → user
The Snapchat message thread, which was provided to campus investigators anonymously, “became a key exhibit in the resulting student conduct matter,” attorneys for the university argued in a July 17 memo filed in Kretzschmar’s case.
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attorneys → provide → case
Jane Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, told NBC News she learned of the Snapchat messages only when they were leaked to her by another fraternity member who was outraged by what his fraternity brothers were said to have done to her.
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brothers → tell → her
Ultimately, the seven received differing penalties, ranging from writing a “reflection paper” to expulsion.
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seven → receive → expulsion
The case went to the local district attorney’s office, which ultimately declined to bring criminal charges.
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which → go → charges
Cornell University police declined to comment on whether they had the photo when they conducted the November 2024 investigation into Jane Doe’s claims.
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they → decline → claims
The university did not respond to a request for comment on the photo and other details reported in this article.
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university → respond → article
Jane Doe told investigators that she did not specifically remember Kretzschmar’s directly taking part in her abuse.
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Kretzschmar → tell → abuse
He was not expelled from Cornell and he graduated last year, but he faced several sanctions — including writing a “reflection paper” — at the conclusion of the Title IX process and was found responsible for attempted sexual exploitation.
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he → expel → exploitation
Asked for comment on Kretzschmar’s state litigation, Giuffra simply called it “ridiculous.”
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Giuffra → ask → it
On Thursday, Giuffra also revealed that Jane Doe completed a rape kit collection weeks after the incident.
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Doe → reveal → incident
Kretzschmar’s attorney, Jeremy Saland, stressed to NBC News on Thursday that his client was not involved in any criminal conduct alleged in the case.
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client → stress → case
“Rape allegations must be taken seriously, and the young woman at the center of this case is entitled to be heard.
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woman → take → case
Nothing in our response is meant to diminish that or her,” Saland said in a statement.
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Saland → mean → statement
“However, Scott is not accused of rape and never has been.
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Scott → accuse → rape
If Scott had seen Doe in duress, he would have taken action but he was not present when her alleged victimization occurred.”
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victimization → see → action
Saland added that his client “participated in a group chat whose content was ugly and reprehensible, and he regrets it.”
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he → add → it
The crude comments are “not the same as taking part in a rape,” and drug use allegations against Kretzschmar are also false, he said.
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he → take → Kretzschmar
Last month, Jane Doe sued the university, Kretzschmar and six other current or former students, alleging that what began as a consensual encounter escalated into hours of nonconsensual sexual activity.
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began → sue → activity
She alleges that even after she reported the incident and endured the Title IX investigation, the school and other institutions failed to do enough to protect her.
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school → allege → her
(Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational settings that involve federal funding.
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that → prohibit → funding
As a result, U.S. colleges and universities are required to have internal processes for adjudicating claims of Title IX violations brought by their students.
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colleges → require → students
The Title IX process is usually not public, but records from the investigation were made public through Kretzschmar’s Article 78 proceeding, a lawsuit he initiated in state court after he exhausted his options at Cornell.
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he → make → Cornell
Lawyers for two of the accused men have denied wrongdoing, while the others have yet to release statements to NBC News.
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others → accuse → News
The Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus as a result of the allegations.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten defended his decision not to charge anyone this week, saying Jane Doe’s statement “described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.”
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statement → bar → use
Kretzschmar’s Article 78 proceeding, text messages and Jane Doe’s own statements show a more complicated reality.
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proceeding → show → reality
Doe, then 20, alleges in a six-page statement to Cornell police that she arrived at Chi Phi after drinking heavily and initially entered an upstairs bedroom with two men she considered friends before things escalated.
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things → allege → men
…and 51 more, not listed.
The Aporia
