Two weeks after a former Cornell University student filed a civil lawsuit claiming she was gang raped by seven fraternity brothers in 2024, new details have emerged from her report to Cornell University Police.
A transcript of the alleged victim’s interview with campus police was obtained by CBS News on Wednesday, September 30. While speaking to police, the victim – known by the alias of Jane Doe – described the alleged sexual assault that took place at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Cornell’s campus in Ithaca, New York, on October 19, 2024.
While speaking to a campus police investigator, a Title IX investigator, a victim advocate and Doe’s adviser, she described drinking and using drugs on the night she was allegedly raped. She also admitted that there were gaps in her memory.
At one point, she asked whether she was OK with the initial sexual activity. “Yeah, as much as I can be because, again, I was super drunk when I got there … But I was pretty OK with all of this,” she said, per the outlet.
“And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time. Physically hit very, very hard,” Doe added.
She went on to say that she didn’t remember the end of the night “where I was raped,” while she also didn’t know how many people had sex with her.
Despite having gaps in her memory, Doe said she “can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped.”
The seven men were never criminally charged, which Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said was based on Doe’s 2024 statement.
On Tuesday, September 29, Van Houten told CBS News that he had never seen the transcript of Doe’s interview with campus police.
“I’m going to follow up on this because this is news to me,” he said.
He added that Doe’s claim she was raped “wasn’t information” he had at the time he decided to not press charges and that the statement “is a legal conclusion.”
“If she had said those words, we certainly would want to have explored that more,” Van Houten said. “Like I said, that wasn’t provided to me.”
In her lawsuit, Doe claimed that she went to the frat house after a night of drinking and was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted. After she was assaulted by two fraternity brothers, they allegedly sent a Snapchat message to the other members that there was “free p***y” upstairs, and at least seven men raped her that night.
Doe reported the sexual assault three weeks later, and only two of the seven fraternity brothers were expelled from Cornell. Meanwhile, her lawyer claimed that the other alleged assailants were given less severe punishments that included submitting essays and attending so-called workshops.
After she filed the lawsuit, the Tompkins County District Attorney announced that the case was being reopened. Cornell University then issued a statement saying that they supports “the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity sexual assault case to be heard by a criminal grand jury.”
Following her initial allegations, the university “conducted a thorough Title IX investigation, which is separate from a criminal proceeding, over the course of several months,” according to Kyle Kimball, the Vice President for University Relations.
The university went on to say that the “hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell” when their investigation concluded. “None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” the statement read.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
