A man and a woman present at the Cornell University fraternity party where a woman said she was raped have claimed that the accuser did not appear drunk or distressed.
asserted
accuser → say → party
The unnamed man was DJing at the October 2024 party at the Chi Phi house in Ithaca, New York, while his girlfriend was also in attendance.
Interview transcripts obtained by TMZ say the DJ lived in the room where the alleged gang rape took place and was himself a member of the Chi Phi fraternity.
The DJ has not been sued by the accuser, who has been anonymized as Jane Doe.
He told interviewers that Jane Doe did not appear drunk, while his girlfriend said she did not appear distressed in the aftermath of the alleged sex attack, TMZ reported.
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TMZ → dj → attack
Speaking to police in November 2024, the DJ told investigators he went into his room to find one of the accused men, Jonathan Newell, vomiting into a bucket while Jane Doe helped him.
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Doe → speak → him
The DJ said Jane Doe repeatedly told him that Newell was fine, that she was looking after him and that she even appeared keen to get him out of his own bedroom.
asserted
she → say → bedroom
Jane Doe claimed she was coerced into taking drugs and sexually assaulted by seven members of the now-defunct Chi Phi fraternity
TMZ reported that the DJ told cops of how he had returned to the same room later, to find multiple people in the room with Jane Doe.
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he → claim → Doe
He said Jane Doe was not undressed and that she was in bed 'conversing with the other individuals in the room very clearly,' according to the interview transcript.
uncertain
she → say → transcript
The DJ went on to tell cops that Jane Doe only seemed to be very slightly intoxicated – one or two on a scale where 10 was the most drunk – and that she appeared to be speaking 'very coherently.'
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she → go → scale
Afterwards, the DJ went to McDonald's with one of the other accused men, Gillio Lopez, and returned to find his room had finally cleared out.
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room → go → men
The next day, the DJ said four of the accused men – Newell, Lopes, Matthew Ingalls and Winston Lee – were discussing 'consensual sex' with Jane Doe.
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four → say → Doe
Jane Doe did not give off any signs that she had been keen to leave the previous evening's party, the DJ also told police.
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DJ → give → police
Meanwhile, the DJ's unidentified girlfriend shared her recollections with cops in an interview in December 2024, TMZ reported.
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TMZ → share → December
The night began with Jane Doe having a threesome with Matthew Ingalls (left) and Jonathan Newell (right)
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Doe → begin → Ingalls
The woman, who is the first female eyewitness to what unfolded at the now-notorious Hawaii-themed fraternity party, said Doe and the men who were with her looked 'very calm' on the evening of the alleged attack.
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who → unfold → attack
She also told police that the encounter appeared to be 'consensual because no one looked visibly distressed.'
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one → tell → police
The DJ's girlfriend said that as she heard more about what allegedly happened, she began to worry about what might have happened to Jane Doe.
uncertain
what → say → Doe
She said she felt 'kinda guilty' for not helping Jane Doe and that she had been 'confused' by people going in and out of the bedroom all night.
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she → say → bedroom
During her interview, the woman said it didn't 'sound like something good' had happened inside and that at one point she saw four or five men in the room with Doe at once.
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she → say → Doe
The local district attorney declined to file any charges in the wake of the incident and Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026.
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Doe → decline → September
Ingalls, Newell, Lee, Lopez and three other men, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar, all deny civil allegations of rape.
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Ingalls → deny → rape
None have been charged with a crime.
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None → charge → crime
Messages sent by Jane Doe which suggested that nothing that happened that night was 'illegal' have also surfaced in recent weeks.
Jane Doe's attorney Thomas Giuffra said she had suffered a delayed reaction to the attack he says his client endured and that it took her some time to realize she had been assaulted.
uncertain
she → send → time
Doe claimed the night took a turn when Newell allegedly posted in a fraternity Snapchat group that there was 'free p***y' upstairs
Doe alleged in a civil lawsuit last month that the sexual assault lasted for seven hours straight, starting around 11pm and continuing until around 5.45am the next day.
uncertain
assault → claim → 5.45am
Text messages also obtained by TMZ show that she responded to her roommate at the Delta Delta Delta sorority at 3.05am – about a half hour to an hour after she said multiple men snorted ketamine off her body and she was too inebriated to process what was happening.
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what → obtain → body
The unidentified roommate asked her at the time: 'You coming home tn [tonight]?'
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You → ask → time
Doe then replied, 'idk,' shorthand for 'I don't know.'
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I → reply → ?
One of the men that Doe is accusing of raping her that night now argues that the text message proves that she was able to read, process and respond to messages – and was therefore not as drunk and high as she claims, the outlet reported.
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outlet → accuse → messages
But in a written statement to Cornell police, the alleged victim said she had arrived at the fraternity house at 'about a five out of 10 level of intoxication' after taking several shots of alcohol with her sorority sisters and getting a mixed drink at a bar in downtown Ithaca, New York.
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she → write → Ithaca
The bar has since denied any wrongdoing.
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bar → deny → wrongdoing
She then engaged in a threesome with defendants Matthew Ingalls and Jonathan Newell, but said the interaction spiraled out of control as more fraternity members entered the room.
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members → engage → room
By 1.42am, Newell allegedly posted in a fraternity Snapchat group that there was 'free p***y' upstairs.
uncertain
Newell → post → group
A 'Stop sexual violence day of action' rally takes place in Foley Square, Manhattan, in the wake of Cornell University rape accusations
At around 2.30am, more members of the fraternity's group chat started to ask about what was happening in the room – to which Ingalls reportedly replied: 'Boys, come whip it out.'
uncertain
Ingalls → stop → it
Back inside the bedroom, Doe said men started snorting drugs off of her body while she was 'feeling extremely tired' and covering her face with her hands.
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she → say → hands
The sexual encounter was said to have lasted until roughly 5.45am, when Doe went to sleep in one of the rooms at the fraternity house.
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Doe → say → house
Cornell officials wound up launching a monthslong probe into Jane Doe's allegations.
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officials → wind → allegations
At least 12 formal hearings were held from January to May 2025 and saw faculty and staff review the evidence.
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faculty → hold → evidence
In the end, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten decided not to file charges against any of the seven men, all of whom have denied any wrongdoing.
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all → decide → wrongdoing
Instead, Ingalls and his frat brother Jonathan Newell were both expelled from campus, Jane Doe's legal filing stated.
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filing → expel → campus
Two others were suspended and placed on disciplinary probation, while a third who had graduated from the school by the time punishments were handed out was barred from campus.
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punishments → suspend → campus
The final two men were ordered to take sexual harassment, social media use and bystander intervention courses.
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men → order → harassment
They were also told to write 'reflection papers,' according to the lawsuit.
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They → tell → lawsuit
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
