Cornell Student Expelled Over Sexual Assault Allegations

One of the seven students accused in a sexual assault lawsuit at Cornell University has been expelled by the institution following a Title IX investigation, according to the accuser's attorney. Jonathan Newell, identified as one of the so-called 'Cornell 7,' was found to have engaged in sexual intercourse without the victim's affirmative consent, stated attorney Thomas Giuffra.

Giuffra indicated that text messages, allegedly sent by Newell on Snapchat to his fraternity, were part of the Title IX process that led to Newell's expulsion after 12 days of evidentiary hearings. The hearing panel reportedly found that Newell violated the accuser's, identified as Jane Doe, bodily safety by initiating intercourse without consent. Giuffra also believes Newell's alleged decision to "sexualize and broadcast Ms. Doe's vulnerability" on Snapchat invited further abuse, leading to assaults by at least three other individuals.

Newell and the other accused fraternity members, Matthew Ingalls, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar, have not faced criminal charges and deny the allegations. Local prosecutors declined to bring charges, but Cornell's Title IX investigation resulted in the expulsion of Newell and Ingalls.

Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James to investigate whether Jane Doe was a victim of a crime. Giuffra asserts that Doe's civil lawsuit against the fraternity brothers is supported by a significant amount of evidence, despite the release of text messages that appear to contradict some of her allegations.

The released texts show Doe expressing concern to Newell and Ingalls about rumors spreading on campus and her reputation being destroyed. She reportedly wrote to Newell that "none of the sexual stuff was illegal" and described the incident as "our body our choice." However, Giuffra argued that these messages do not indicate consent and that Doe exhibited "classic symptoms of delayed recognition," a phenomenon where survivors take time to process and identify an assault due to trauma, confusion, memory gaps, or self-blame. He stated that most rape survivors do not immediately identify their experience as rape, particularly when the perpetrator is known to them, and that Doe's experience involved alcohol and drugs, which can further obscure the reality of non-consensual acts.