Jane Doe allegedly told one of the seven Cornell fraternity members she accused of a serious sexual assault that her recollection was unclear, but that “none of the sexual stuff was illegal” and that “our body our choice.”
Messages obtained by TMZ show that Jane Doe exchanged texts with Jonathan Newell, a Chi Phi fraternity member named in her civil lawsuit, the day after the alleged incident.
Newell contacted Doe on October 21, 2024, writing: “I just wanted to apologize for how things went down the other night. My memory is kinda fuzzy abt [sic] a lot of it.”
He described her as an “amazing person” and said he hoped she was not receiving as much criticism over the incident as the fraternity members were.
Doe appeared to dismiss concerns raised by others about the sexual encounter, telling Newell that neither he nor the other men should feel ashamed.
“So anything anyone has to say about the gamgbang [sic] is out of their jurisdiction. I don’t think we should feel any shame for the part. our body our choice,” she allegedly wrote.
Newell said he and another accused fraternity member, Matthew Ingalls, regretted being so intoxicated that they failed to “shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.”
Doe replied: “Aw jonathan i really appreciate this text. my memories are super clouded too. i think we were all way to f**king drunk and high.”
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging that seven members of Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity coerced her into taking drugs and sexually assaulted her at an off-campus house on October 20, 2024.
In a text sent the day after the alleged assault, Jane Doe reportedly said her memory was unclear, but that “none of the sexual stuff was illegal” and “our body our choice.”
“At the end of the day non [sic] of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly I really liked being w u and matt.”
In her civil complaint, Doe alleged that she was pressured into consuming drugs before being sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members two years ago.
She reported the alleged rape three weeks after it occurred. Prosecutors later said there was “insufficient evidence” to pursue criminal sexual assault charges. All seven men have denied the allegations.
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Cornell opened a Title IX investigation into the students in 2025 and subsequently closed the fraternity.
Following the university’s Title IX process, Newell and Ingalls were expelled from Cornell.
The Daily Mail reported this week that Newell was later expelled from Nova Southeastern University in Florida as well.
Records from Cornell, reviewed by The New York Times on Thursday, indicated that Newell was scheduled to serve as a sober safety monitor on the night of the alleged assault.
As a designated “trained event monitor,” Newell was expected to remain sober and wear easily recognizable clothing so partygoers could quickly identify him during an emergency.
Despite being listed as a sober monitor, Newell was accused in Doe’s lawsuit of helping supply her with drugs and alcohol before the alleged sexual assault, along with other fraternity members.
Newell said he and fellow accused fraternity member Matthew Ingalls, pictured, regretted being too intoxicated to “shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.”
Jane Doe’s lawsuit sparked national outrage over how authorities handled the case
One of the men allegedly posted to the fraternity’s active-members Snapchat group saying that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe, according to the filing, which included an image of the purported chat
Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit alleged that she was sexually assaulted over a brutal seven-hour ordeal, during which time Newell also sent a Snapchat message to his fraternity inviting them to join.
Newell denied the allegations and told investigators that he had consensual sexual activity with Jane Doe on the night, and the new records show he claimed not to remember sending the Snapchat message.
Jane Doe’s lawsuit sparked national outrage over how authorities handled the case, and New York Attorney General Letitia James has since opened an ‘active criminal investigation’ into the allegations.
Cornell has hired Sally Yates, a former Obama-appointed justice official who was infamously fired by President Donald Trump, to investigate its response to gang rape allegations.