Cornell Fraternity Brother Asked if 'Shop Still Open' Amid Alleged Gang Rape
Newly obtained Snapchat messages reveal disturbing exchanges among Phi Chi fraternity members on the night a student was allegedly drugged and assaulted.
Sickening new text messages from a Cornell University fraternity group chat show members discussing a female student who claimed she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven students in October 2024. One fraternity brother asked if the "shop [was] still open" in reference to the student, according to messages obtained by CBS New York and reported by the New York Post.
The exchange occurred in a Snapchat group chat among members of the Phi Chi fraternity on the night of the alleged assault. It remains unclear who sent the specific message.
Earlier in the chain of messages, another fraternity brother allegedly announced that there was "free p--sy" upstairs, referring to the student, around 1:42 a.m., according to the lawsuit.
The seven fraternity brothers named in the suit are Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar. A lawyer for Kretzschmar denied his client's participation in the abuse, stating that a hair follicle test showed no ketamine in his system. The lawyer claimed Kretzschmar briefly entered the room, saw the student was not undressed, and left.
An attorney for Lopes also denied the allegations, stating that they differed from what Cornell had previously investigated.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten confirmed he is reopening the case due to new evidence provided by the accuser, referred to as Jane Doe. He noted that her initial sworn statement did not include allegations of being drugged or gang-raped.
The incident has also drawn attention from a former South Park writer, who created a website to expose the alleged perpetrators, identified as the "Cornell 7."