A two-year-old case has gained attention after prosecutors in New York reopened a case where a woman had accused seven frat brothers at Cornell University of allegedly drugging and raping her. The 22-year-old woman is now suing the university, along with the fraternity brothers for not protecting her and preventing the incident. The seven accused have been identified as Winston Lee, Scott Kretzschmar, Scott Norris, Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Gillio Lopes, and Diego Sarabia at the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell in 2024, according to media reports.
What does the lawsuit say?
The lawsuit said that the woman visited Cornell's Chi Phi frat house to meet a friend. She had alleged that two of the frat brothers forced her to snort what she named as ketamine(drug. Following this, the ex-student alleged that she was being raped (oral and vaginal intercourse) by multiple people for several hours. The survivor lay unconscious when one of the accomplices reportedly wrote “free pussy” in the Snapchat group, titled Chi Phi Actives, CBS reported.
The chat continued, with one of the defendants saying, "This is crazy work," according to the New York Post.
"Like you can walk in and whip it out," another added, the report said.
According to the complaint, more men showed up after the message, and the survivor was raped for hours. The survivor’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, submitted the screengrab of the Snapchat conversation in the court.
The lawsuit further added that Cornell University "created an environment where sexual assault and rape of persons such as Plaintiff would be tolerated" and failed to "discipline or remove" the students. “None of these guys were arrested,” Guiffra added.
The victim, who allegedly left school after the incident, had accused Cornell and the other defendants of breach of contract, negligence, and violations of state law. Additionally, the former student has sought monetary compensation, including compensatory and punitive damages, but the lawsuit does not specify how much she is seeking.
Submitting a response to the new lawsuit, the Tompkins County District Attorney said that a thorough investigation was carried out into the case; however, “sufficient evidence” were not found against the accused.
How did the university respond?
Responding to the case, Cornell University said the Xi chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity has barred the Xi chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity from campus.
"Federal privacy law prohibits Cornell from disclosing specific information regarding individual students, and we therefore are unable to make a public statement on any other disciplinary response. Violations of university policies could lead to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion. We will respond in detail through the legal process," it said.
The report added that the institution has introduced a task force to investigate sexual assaults and has made significant changes in the policy for the same.
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