Seven Fraternity Members, One Lawsuit and Questions for Cornell

Episode Overview

• This episode of Crime Junkie, hosted by breaking news reporter Briana Whitney, investigates the October 2024 alleged group sexual assault at Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity house involving seven fraternity brothers dubbed "The Cornell 7."
• It traces the timeline from the initial 2024 campus crime alert through a nearly two-year public silence, culminating in a more than 100-page civil lawsuit filed on September 16, 2026, against Cornell University, Chi Phi, Moonies Bar & Nightclub, and the seven accused men.
• The narrative exposes a severe disconnect between internal university disciplinary processes and the criminal justice system, detailing how two men were expelled for sexual assault while zero criminal charges were initially filed due to failures by campus police and the local District Attorney.
• Through leaked text messages, forensic psychology insights, and interviews with survivors from Cornell and Columbia University, the episode examines counterintuitive trauma responses and how institutional bureaucracy can retraumatize victims or weaponize Title IX against them.
• This content is essential for students, parents, educators, and legal observers seeking to understand the systemic crisis surrounding Greek life, campus sexual assault investigations, and ongoing administrative reforms.

Key Concepts

• The "Cornell 7" Incident and Lawsuit Allegations: On October 19, 2024, into the early morning of October 20, a 20-year-old student ("Jane Doe") consumed about 10 drinks in 3 hours—including being served at least 1 drink at Moonies Bar & Nightclub despite having X's marked on her hands indicating she was under 21—before meeting her friend, defendant Matthew Ingalls, at the Chi Phi house around 11:00 PM. Jane Doe alleges that after Ingalls asked for a threesome, she was incapacitated, pressured into snorting ketamine, and subjected to a hours-long gang rape ending around 5:45 AM, during which at least 2 men assaulted her simultaneously. At 1:42 AM, defendant Jonathan Newell messaged a 50+ member "Chi Phi Actives" Snapchat group advertising "free [redacted]" in the alumni room, prompting replies from Scott Norris ("Free..."), Scott Kretzschmar ("diego went 7 min ago and is not afk sooooo"), and Matthew Ingalls ("I f***ing love chi phi"). All seven named defendants (Ingalls, Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Norris, and Kretzschmar) deny wrongdoing, claiming their contact with Jane Doe was either consensual or nonexistent.
• Disparities in Cornell's Title IX Outcomes: While Cornell banned Chi Phi and conducted a months-long Title IX investigation (though they did not specify how many interviews were conducted or what evidence was reviewed), the resulting punishments varied wildly. University files reviewed by The New York Times and The Cornell Daily Sun show Matthew Ingalls and Jonathan Newell were found definitively responsible for sexual assault and expelled. However, Winston Lee was suspended for 2 years with probation, Gillio Lopes was suspended for 3 semesters with 2 years of probation, and Diego Sarabia (who had already graduated) was barred from campus for 3 years; publicly, it remains unknown what specific offenses Lee, Lopes, and Sarabia were found responsible for. Most controversially, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar received no-contact orders, a directed study, and a reflection paper (an essay), with court documents showing Kretzschmar was found responsible for "attempted sexual exploitation" for going upstairs after replying to the 1:42 AM Snapchat intending to at least watch a nude woman or sex.
• Criminal Investigation Failures and State Intervention: Despite Jane Doe getting a rape kit on November 7 (from which no DNA evidence was recovered) and reporting the rape to Cornell University Police on November 8 with "100% confidence" according to a transcript obtained by CBS News, not 1 person was criminally charged. Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten initially declined to prosecute, citing a 2024 sworn statement where Jane Doe rated her intoxication at arrival as a 5 out of 10, agreed to a threesome, stated conduct stopped whenever she asked, and described the drug use and sex as "voluntary, conscious, and consensual." However, Van Houten later admitted he never saw the Snapchat screenshot (which Cornell claims it provided), never saw the campus police interview transcript, and never investigated beyond the initial statement. Following public outrage, Van Houten reopened the case on September 28, and on October 1, NY Governor Kathy Hochul appointed NY Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor (whom defense attorneys for Lopes and Lee are now attempting to remove for alleged bias over a September 28 social media post calling what the woman endured "horrific and unacceptable").
• Trauma Responses and the "Rewrite" Phenomenon: Leaked text messages from October 21 show Newell apologizing to Jane Doe because he and Matt were "too f***ed up to shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand," to which Jane Doe initially replied that her memories were clouded, wrote "at the end of the day non of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly i really liked being w u and matt... our body our choice," and asked if he remembered her doing ketamine off his penis. She also texted Ingalls that rumors were destroying her reputation and she was pissed at the "rats in the room," before reversing course on November 3 to text Newell that "90%" of the night was non-consensual and cutting off contact with Ingalls on November 8 ("i think i'm done talking to you. i know you lied."). Forensic psychology researcher Alexandra "AJ" Grier explains that this counterintuitive behavior is a common trauma response: it often takes survivors time to recognize an experience as rape, and many stay in contact with perpetrators in an effort to "rewrite what happened as a consensual encounter with friends."
• Systemic Deterrence and Retaliation Across Universities: Data reveals that campus sexual assault and institutional inaction are widespread. At Cornell, women in Greek life report sexual assault at nearly twice the rate (2x) of non-Greek women, and a USA Today analysis found that out of more than 1,200 reports of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking to Cornell's Title IX office between 2018 and 2024, only 7 ended in expulsion or dismissal. Practical barriers also deter reporting: Cornell student Cindi-Renee Granillo dropped her own freshman sexual assault case after learning she had to make a 20-minute drive to Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca for a rape kit to go to police. At Columbia University in Fall 2021, after survivor Golda Daphna was urged by Title IX to file a formal complaint against her boyfriend for rape, the perpetrator filed a retaliatory complaint against her 2 weeks later for harassment over her TikTok videos; Columbia placed her senior diploma on hold until she agreed to mutually drop the case and not use his name. (Briana Whitney noted she reached out to Columbia regarding their protocols and this case, but had not heard back as of the recording).
• Administrative Reckoning: The fallout from the Cornell 7 case and parallel crises at other schools (such as the University of Arizona suspending all fraternity activities on October 5 over severe misconduct allegations, with 5 remaining under investigation, and a sexual assault investigation at a University of Chicago fraternity house on October 11) has forced administrative action. On October 13, Cornell's president suspended all fraternity parties and social events for the rest of the 2026–2027 school year and apologized to Jane Doe. Meanwhile, Cornell’s Faculty Senate (over 75 voting members) initiated a no-confidence vote scheduled for October 28, and the Board of Trustees retained former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct an independent review of Cornell's policies and handling of the 2024 case.

Quotes

• At 8:36 - "Some of the defendants were, quote, 'afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.'" - Briana Whitney quoting Jane Doe's lawsuit (noting the lawsuit didn't specify how many defendants), highlighting the leniency of the university's Title IX punishments for certain participants.
• At 14:10 - "'In what world would the police learn a victim had been gang raped by men in a fraternity house and not elevate that to the district attorney?' And then she digs even deeper and she said, 'In what world is the DA not even interviewing her or anybody else involved, or even requesting the full interview transcript?'" - Briana Whitney quoting NY Governor Kathy Hochul's public criticism of campus police and the Tompkins County DA when appointing a special prosecutor.
• At 17:02 - "Quote, 'Let's be clear that 90% of what happened that night was not consensual. I was given more ket than I can remember and I know that I told you I felt uncomfortable and I didn't know anyone in the room. All I remember after that was you giving me ket to do off your d*** in front of everyone like a sex doll/worker.'" - Briana Whitney reading Jane Doe's November 3 text message to Jonathan Newell, showing the pivotal moment the survivor processed the reality of the assault after an initial period of denial and shock.
• At 20:45 - "They found Cornell reported to New York State more than 1,200 reports of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking to Cornell's Title IX office between 2018 and 2024. Only seven out of 1,200 plus ended in expulsion or dismissal." - Briana Whitney citing an exclusive USA Today analysis that illustrates the extreme rarity of severe disciplinary consequences in campus Title IX proceedings.
• At 34:52 - "Quote, 'If you feel hopeless, life does get more beautiful, you become more resilient.'" - Briana Whitney quoting Columbia University graduate and sexual assault survivor Golda Daphna, offering a final message of encouragement to survivors navigating broken institutional systems.

Takeaways

• Look beyond the "perfect victim" myth when evaluating sexual assault claims: recognize that survivors frequently experience a psychological "fog" after an assault and may delay reporting, maintain friendly contact with perpetrators, or initially describe an encounter as consensual as a coping mechanism before fully processing the trauma.
• Know your rights and external options before relying solely on campus Title IX offices: because internal university investigations rarely result in expulsion, often lack on-campus forensic medical resources (such as requiring off-campus travel for rape kits), and can be weaponized via retaliatory counter-complaints that jeopardize graduation, survivors and advocates should consider parallel reporting to independent law enforcement and securing external legal counsel.
• Leverage student journalism and coordinated legal timing to drive institutional accountability: as demonstrated by The Cornell Daily Sun reporters who investigated for years while respecting Jane Doe's request to hold publication until her civil lawsuit was filed, combining thorough student reporting with civil litigation can force transparency, trigger independent oversight, and prompt state-level criminal intervention when local authorities fail to act.