Tompkins County DA Reopens Cornell University Assault Probe

Civil Lawsuit Uncovers New Snapchat Messages

According to a 101-page civil lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, members of the Chi Phi fraternity exchanged graphic messages in a Snapchat group chain while the assault allegedly occurred. Court documents show that at approximately 1:42 a.m. on October 19, 2024, a fraternity member announced in the group chat that there was free p–sy upstairs in reference to the victim, who had gone to the house after bar hopping with her sorority sisters. As detailed in reporting by CBS New York, subsequent messages in the chain included a member asking if the shop still open, to which another participant flippantly replied, Yea. Additional messages cited in the legal filing included statements such as I f–king love Chi Phi and Like you can walk in and whip it out. At the time of the alleged incident, the fraternity had 57 active members. The seven members named as defendants in the lawsuit are Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar.

Prosecutor Reopens Criminal Probe Following New Evidence

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated that his office initially reviewed the case in 2024 but declined to bring criminal charges because the evidence available at the time did not establish a lack of consent under New York state law. Van Houten noted that the civil complaint contains material his office did not previously possess, including the group-chat logs and updated accounts from the victim. We all process trauma differently, Van Houten said, acknowledging that victims often require years of therapy to fully process and understand assaults. Prosecutors intend to present the newly available evidence to a grand jury. Meanwhile, legal representatives for the defendants have contested aspects of the claims. Jeremy Saland, an attorney for Scott Kretzschmar, stated that his client participated in no sexual abuse and pointed to a hair follicle test showing no ketamine in Kretzschmar’s system, though that test has not been independently reviewed.

Cornell University Disciplinary Actions and Institutional Response

In response to the 2024 allegations, Cornell University closed the Chi Phi fraternity chapter and initiated an internal disciplinary process. University officials confirmed that some students were suspended stemming from the university’s investigation.