How the woman in the alleged Cornell gang rape case realized she was a victim and launched a push for justice

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A detailed timeline has emerged in the case of the ex-Cornell University student who alleges she was gang-raped by seven male fraternity members while on drugs at a house party, shedding new light on how she decided to push for justice.

The young woman, identified as Jane Doe, is suing Cornell and the seven members of the Ivy League school’s Chi Phi fraternity house, alleging that she was pressured into taking ketamine and sexually assaulted for hours on October 19, 2024, at the Chi Phi fraternity house party in Ithaca, New York. No arrests have been made in connection to the case, and the local district attorney has said he is reopening the case in light of the civil suit.

More than 1,000 pages of documents in the case– including text messages between Doe and some of the men accused of being involved in the assault, interviews, and photographs– collected during Cornell’s internal Title IX proceedings were obtained by The New York Times. They capture Doe’s apparent state of mind during the three weeks from the night in question to the day she reported the incident to the university police on Nov. 8, 2024.

The documents paint a picture of the sophomore woman who struggled to grapple with what allegedly unfolded at the frat house party, even reassuring her alleged abusers in text messages, before she concluded what happened was “not consensual,” the newspaper reports.

Attorneys for at least three of the men, whose images are plastered across social media, have issued statements denying criminal wrongdoing, while others have not made public statements.

Doe’s roommates told the school’s investigators that she arrived home around 11:15 a.m. the morning of Oct. 20, still wearing her “big boots and small dress” from the night before, according to the documents obtained by the Times.

She reportedly told her roommates she had taken ketamine and had sex with multiple men. A roommate told investigators that Doe appeared to be “in shock” and was “not really understanding the gravity of what she was saying.”

Another roommate told investigators that Doe had not yet used the words “rape or assault.”

Doe reached out to her “big sister” at Cornell’s Tri Delta sorority, her mentor-like figure, and said rumors swirled on campus that she was a “slut.” The big sister reportedly told investigators that she recalled Doe adding, “Unfortunately, they are true,” with a laugh.

“I could tell that — just from personal experiences — that what she was going through was that she had not yet processed what had happened,” the big sister reportedly said.

One of the men named in the lawsuit, Jonathan Newell, reportedly texted Doe on Oct. 21, two days after the party. “I just wanted to apologize for how things went down the other night,” he allegedly wrote.

Newell reportedly said that he and Matthew Ingalls, Doe’s friend who brought her to the party, felt bad for being too under the influence of drugs and alcohol to “shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.”

Doe reportedly replied with a reassuring message. “At the end of the day non [sic] of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly i really liked being w u and matt,” she reportedly wrote.

On October 22, Doe reportedly arranged to see a doctor at Cornell Health after contracting a urinary tract infection. She reportedly told the doctor that it was contracted “in a traumatic way” and was allegedly advised to “go to therapy.”

An attorney for Ingalls declined to comment when approached for comment by the Times. Newell’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

On October 23, Doe texted Ingalls saying “everyone knows” and that the rumors were “RUINING my life temporarily.” She reportedly told him that all she could do was “sleep and cry all day.” Ingalls reportedly replied by comforting her, and said that she did not have “anything to be ashamed of.”

Doe, meanwhile, reportedly told a concerned roommate: “If anyone asks about this, say it didn’t happen.”

The roommate reportedly told investigators: “As the days went on, I think she kind of came to realize that it was something bad. And that she didn’t really enjoy her time there.”

Approximately one week later, with posts swirling about the party online, Doe sent Ingalls one from a student forum accusing Chi Phi of gang rape.

Ingalls reportedly called the allegation “ridiculous” and said, “I’m gonna report that.”

Doe then found another post about the party and the alleged assault.

“Are Chi Phi brothers Crips or Bloods because I hear they have been doing hell Gang Banging?” someone reportedly posted.

“They do drugs and gang r*ped a sophomore,” another reportedly said. “Report them.”

After reading the posts, Doe reportedly told investigators it was “the first time I had ever heard the narrative change that I wasn’t a whore and that I was assaulted.”

Doe’s roommates reportedly told investigators that toward the end of the month, her perception of what happened to her had shifted.

In a phone call with Ingalls on October 28 that one roommate overheard, she reportedly told him: “How could you let this happen?”

Doe had reportedly been sexually assaulted before, the roommate told investigators. “I’d have conversations and she would describe a part of what happened and I would tell her that that is what could be classified as rape,” the roommate said.

Ingalls initially told Doe that she was welcome at the fraternity’s upcoming Halloween party. “chi phi is your house and you are welcome here,” he reportedly texted her.

“thank u i really appreciate that <3 i’ll bring my cigs tomorrow,” Doe reportedly replied.

Doe later received a phone call from Chi Phi’s president, who is not among the accused, according to the Times, where he disinvited her from the Halloween party. He reportedly told her that it was for her own good, according to the Times.

“I knew this was going to happen,” Doe reportedly texted Ingalls. “The woman will always get the short end of the stick. Yall aren’t my friends. Yall are covering your asses.”

Doe characterizes the events of Oct. 19 as “not consensual” in text messages reportedly sent to Newell in early November.

She appears to conclude by this point that what happened was assault.

“Let’s be clear that 90% of what happened that night was not consensual. i was given more key than i can remember and i know that i told u i felt uncomfortable and i didn’t know anyone in the room,” she reportedly texted Newell, using slang for ketamine.

One of her only memories from that night was doing ketamine off of his genitals “in front of everyone like a sex doll/worker,” she reportedly continued in the text to Newell.

According to the documents, she requested a rape kit from an emergency room in Ithaca on Nov. 7, before making the report to Cornell’s University police department the following day.

The university has come under fire for its response to the incident, with Doe alleging that the school failed to protect her or adequately punish those responsible.

Cornell issued a statement supporting the Tompkins County District Attorney’s decision to reopen the case, and pushed back against allegations that the school “did not impose consequential punishments for those involved.”

“A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault,” said Kyle Kimble, Cornell’s vice president for university relations.

For those affected by rape and sexual abuse, if you are in the United States, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673).

Rape Crisis also offers support.You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk.