Overview
- The student known as Jane Doe says seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her after she was heavily intoxicated on the night of October 19–20, 2024, and that fraternity Snapchat posts and videos circulated that night.
- The county district attorney initially declined to bring criminal charges after receiving a shortened campus police summary, then reopened the inquiry after the lawsuit drew public attention and scrutiny.
- Governor Kathy Hochul removed the local prosecutor from the case and named New York attorney general Letitia James as special prosecutor to lead the renewed criminal review.
- Doe’s civil complaint publicly details claims of pressured ketamine use, heavy drinking, and what she calls an inadequate university investigation; Cornell closed the Chi Phi chapter and imposed expulsions and other sanctions that the plaintiff says fell short.
- Social media support for the plaintiff has grown under the hashtag #IAmJaneDoe while some journalists and a website have tried to identify parties, prompting warnings about doxxing and spurring state and university reviews of laws and campus policies on intoxication and assault.