Jane Doe Details Alleged Rape at Cornell Fraternity to Hearing Panel

A former Cornell University student, identified as Jane Doe, provided a detailed account to a university hearing panel of an alleged gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024, stating she was "raped and tormented." Doe testified via teleconference on May 29, 2025, that she was "prostituted, and I was held up like bait for a gaggle of men, and I didn't even know it was happening." She alleged that she was assaulted by eight to 10 fraternity brothers, according to school records reviewed by ABC News.

Doe pleaded with the panel to remove the accused students from campus, aiming to "make Cornell a better and safer place." The incident is currently the subject of a criminal investigation. Some of the men involved in the hearing maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual, while a friend of Doe's stated that Doe initially felt it was consensual due to being in shock.

The Cornell Title IX investigation concluded without its results being shared with local prosecutors, who had previously declined to press charges. Cornell Police had offered their investigation's findings, but the district attorney's office declined to review them.

Transcripts from the 12-day hearing reveal contrasting accounts of the events. The seven men accused in the incident have denied any wrongdoing. One of the accused stated, "The truth is that [Jane] may have regrets about that night, as do I, but those regrets do not amount to sexual assault or sexual exploitation." Others who were present in the room but denied participating in sexual acts or drug use argued for their innocence, with one brother stating, "I was in the room where it happened that night, but not when it happened."

Doe acknowledged that her memory of the evening was incomplete, telling the panel, "I will never know everything that happened to me, and I know I've said that a lot." She explained that her initial friendly communications with some of the men post-incident were a result of her being "open-minded, and thoughtful, and empathetic," and that these qualities protected the accused for weeks as she struggled to believe something terrible had occurred.

A friend of Jane Doe's testified that Doe's initial perception of consent stemmed from shock and a desire to smooth things over, but that Doe was clearly uncomfortable and "wasn't okay with what happened" by the following Monday.

Some fraternity brothers pushed back against Doe's narrative, asserting that she affirmatively consented and only changed her account due to campus rumors and public perception following a crime alert. One brother argued, "What is highly possible here is that the complainant initiated this [investigation] ... due to the public perception of the event and rumors that arose after the issuance of the crime alert."

At the conclusion of the hearing, Doe expressed that the incident had transformed her view of Cornell from a dream school to a place where she felt "raped and tormented." She reiterated her request for the panel to remove the accused students to enhance campus safety.

Three months later, the panel expelled two students and suspended two others. Jane Doe withdrew from Cornell and has filed a civil suit. None of the named defendants have formally responded in court, though all have denied wrongdoing.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating the incident. Cornell's board of trustees has appointed the law firm King & Spalding, led by former acting U.S. attorney general Sally Yates, to conduct an independent probe.