Stories
Chilling Cornell Fraternity Chat Messages Emerge, Reopening Gangrape Investigation
- •A criminal investigation into alleged gangrape at Cornell University in 2024 has been reopened due to new details from a civil lawsuit.
- •Snapchat messages, including "Shop still open?" and "free p-sy" allegedly exchanged by Chi Phi fraternity members, are central to the new evidence.
- •The victim, Jane Doe, alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members while incapacitated.
- •Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten reopened the case, stating the civil lawsuit provided crucial evidence, including group-chat material, not available in the original 2024 review.
- •Cornell University closed the Chi Phi chapter and imposed sanctions, including suspensions and expulsions, but denies claims of lenient punishment.
Key Questions Answered
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation after a civil lawsuit brought new details to light, including previously undisclosed Snapchat messages and updated accounts from the victim that were not available during the initial 2024 review.
The civil lawsuit alleges that seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted an incapacitated 20-year-old female student at the fraternity house in October 2024 while sharing graphic messages about her in a group chat.
Cornell closed the Chi Phi chapter and conducted an internal disciplinary process resulting in suspensions and expulsions, while Vice President Kyle Kimball explicitly rejected claims that the university only required students to write disciplinary essays.
