Cornell University has recently been under fire in various headlines and on social media for its light punishments for the seven men who allegedly gang-raped Jane Doe in 2024.
However, recent reporting from the New York Times, citing detailed discipline summaries, 1,000 pages of interview transcripts, police reports, and other records gathered by Cornell investigators, shows the initial punishments the university gave each of the seven accused Chi Phi fraternity members in a closed proceeding.
The lawsuit filed by Jane Doe added fuel to the fire online when it stated that the accused were “afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”
The university has said that the characterization of the punishments is inaccurate.
How did Cornell punish seven fraternity members accused of sexual assault?
Notably, none of the seven accused men were ever criminally charged. All seven have also denied any wrongdoing.
Their fraternity, Chi Phi, was barred from campus.
The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case in 2024.
But Jane Doe said that the incident left her “destroyed” and “utterly ashamed,” in recently released text messages to a member of Chi Phi.
Cornell opened a closed disciplinary investigation into the matter. A three-member panel, which enforces federal civil rights at the university under Title IX provisions, was appointed to dole out punishments. The NYT noted that the panel did not conclude that Jane Doe was sexually assaulted by all seven of the men she has accused.
The lightest of the punishments doled out were “reflection papers” and sexual misconduct trainings. The most severe was expulsion from Cornell.
What happened between Jane Doe and the Cornell 7?
In October 2024, Jane Doe went to the Chi Phi fraternity house to visit Matthew Ingalls. Once she was there, he asked her if she wanted to have a threesome with Jonathan Newell.
Once she was there, both men gave her alcohol and ketamine. Jane Doe has consistently stated that, because she was severely intoxicated, she was unable to give consent to any sexual act.
After that encounter, other men engaged in sexual acts with her without her consent after Newell sent a Snapchat message saying that there was “free p*ssy upstairs.”
Jane Doe told police in November 2024 that Newell left bruises on her buttocks and manipulated her into taking ketamine.
At one point, when she was near hallucinating, other men entered to have sex with her.
Both Ingalls and Newell were expelled from Cornell and were found responsible for sexual assault.
Ingalls, in particular, was found to be willing to “manipulate, exploit and endanger Jane Doe for his own self-interest and the entertainment of others,” the NYT reported, citing Cornell discipline summaries.
Winston Lee and Gillio Lopes were given suspensions and disciplinary probation for their alleged part in the rape.
Jane Doe accused Lee of snorting ketamine off of her and forcing oral sex on her without her consent. She accused Lopes of having sex with her without her consent.
Lee was given a two-year suspension from campus with multiple semesters of disciplinary probation.
Lopes was given a three-semester suspension and two years of probation.
Both men were given an order not to contact Jane Doe, were required to take a course on sexual harassment, and write “reflection papers.”
Diego Sarabia was issued a persona non-grata order by the university; he had graduated by the time of the discipline panel’s ruling.
Jane Doe accused Sarabia of kissing her without her consent.
He was banned from campus for three years.
Jane Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said in a statement on Friday that the punishments “did not reflect the severity of the charges.”
The final two men, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar, were accused of entering the room where Jane Doe was undressed on the bed after Newell’s Snapchat message.
They were ordered not to contact Jane Doe, to study sexual harassment, social media use, and bystander intervention, and also had to write “reflection papers.”
Kretzschmar was specifically not found responsible for sexual assault, the NYT added, but Cornell said he did commit attempted sexual exploitation.
Jeremy Saland, Kretzschmar’s lawyer, said that his client was “never accused of, nor found responsible for, rape,” in response to a request for comment from the NYT.
“He was not even present during any sexual activity,” Saland added.
Lawyers, family members, and direct requests for commentary to any other former member of Chi Phi from the NYT either went unanswered or were denied.
Jane Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said in a Friday statement that the punishments Cornell gave the seven men “did not reflect the severity of the charges.”
“With the exception of two of these men, all of them will be able to graduate with a Cornell diploma and live their lives reaping the benefits of this coveted degree,” Giuffra said. “In contrast, as of today, it is doubtful whether Ms. Doe will even graduate from college or ever live a normal life due to what these men did to her.”