A Cornell student who says seven classmates sexually assaulted her has exchanged messages with one of the men about tracing the source of campus rumors surrounding the disputed encounter, with both suggesting that jealousy may have fueled the gossip.
The student, identified in a civil lawsuit as Jane Doe, claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven Chi Phi fraternity members after a party in October 2024. The lawsuit was filed last month.
The seven men deny the accusations and have not been charged. They maintain that the sexual activity involving Jane Doe at Cornell’s Ithaca campus was consensual.
TMZ has published messages between Doe and Matthew Ingalls, one of the men named in the case. The exchanges appear to reflect an ongoing friendship after the alleged assault, as Doe expressed concern about how rumors were affecting her standing on campus.
In one message sent days after the alleged incident, Doe wrote to Ingalls: “jonathan def told people. i heard something today and i know he told people. he was a (sic)pi phi two nights ago too.” The reference may have been to Jonathan Newell, another defendant in the lawsuit.
Ingalls replied that Newell had not discussed the matter at Pi Phi, saying the fraternity would not raise it around him because he had consistently denied that anything happened. He added that he would ask Newell, but believed an upperclassman had told someone else and started the rumor. Ingalls described that person’s account as unconvincing.
When Doe did not appear to respond, Ingalls followed up two hours later: “Who told you this? If we can narrow down the girl we can narrow down suspects. I know it wasn’t Johnathan. Trust me he would never.”
Doe answered that the person who had heard the story would not identify the source because it was one of her friends. “im j dropping it i give up im defeated,” she wrote.
Ingalls responded with sympathy, using Doe’s real name in the message and telling her he was sorry she was dealing with the situation. He said he hoped the people spreading the rumors would soon lose interest and that the matter would fade.
A separate set of messages obtained by TMZ also shows Doe telling Ingalls that she was suffering from a urinary tract infection after the encounter. Ingalls offered her reassurance and support.
Doe replied that things would improve and suggested that people were jealous of the pair. She also wrote that people needed to “grow up,” adding that changing attitudes toward sexuality meant incidents involving sex would become more common. The message ended with an affectionate declaration to Ingalls.
Newly published messages show that the Cornell student who alleges she was sexually assaulted by fraternity members told one of the men that campus observers might be “jealous” of them shortly after the disputed encounter.
The exchanges indicate that Jane Doe told fraternity member Matthew Ingalls, pictured above, that she feared campus rumors had seriously damaged her reputation.
Doe’s lawsuit has triggered intense media attention and renewed scrutiny of Cornell’s handling of the allegations. In the complaint, she said she went to the Chi Phi house after a night of partying to see Ingalls.
She alleges that she initially agreed to have sex with Ingalls and another man, but claims the situation changed after she was given ketamine and alcohol until she became incapacitated. According to the complaint, several additional men then took part.
Doe’s lawsuit alleges that the encounter lasted approximately seven hours. It also claims fraternity members used a Snapchat group chat to advertise “free p***y,” while one participant asked, “Shop still open?”
Ingalls is named in the complaint along with Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar. All seven deny Doe’s allegations, and none has been criminally charged.
The latest messages show Ingalls attempting to calm Doe in the aftermath, telling her that reports about the night were “nonsense.”
“Boring people who have nothing to do with their time,” he wrote. “It’ll blow over in a couple days I imagine, until then we just have to sit tight.”
He also asked how she was managing the pressure and whether there was anything she needed.
Jane Doe responded to say she was ‘f***ing p***ed’ about the gossip, ’cause this many people shouldn’t know.’
‘I feel like I know who some of the rats in the room were, if I ever find out I swear to god it’s in sight,’ she wrote.
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‘Literally people are making it crazier every f***ing day… On top of it I have a uti and all I do is sleep and cry all day.’
Previously released screenshots from Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit revealed that the Chi Phi fraternity brothers sent messages on the night of the alleged assault, advertizing ‘free p***y’
One man involved in the Snapchat group had allegedly asked ‘Shop still open?’ shortly after a photograph of Jane Doe was shared in the messages, according to a screenshot filed in the civil complaint
Protests erupted on Cornell’s campus this week amid backlash to the case
Matthew then consoled Jane Doe and said it was ‘incredibly overwhelming and f***ed up on all fronts.’
‘I’ve been dealing with similar stuff on my end but obviously it doesn’t compare to what you’re going through,’ he wrote.
‘Stupid b****es like to yap, and the fact they’re doing it shows that they’re jealous of you for any number of reasons.’
Separate texts show another of the fraternity brothers named in Jane Doe’s lawsuit, Jonathan Newell, texting her after the encounter to say how he was sorry ‘for how things went down the other night.’
Separate messages also reveal Jane Doe texted fraternity brother Jonathan Newell (above) that ‘none of the sexual stuff was illegal’. She went on to accuse him in her civil lawsuit
Newell said his ‘memory’s kinda fuzzy’ about the details, but said he and Ingalls ‘feel like s*** for being too f***ed up to shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.’
‘You’re an amazing person and I genuinely hope ur not catching as much heat from this as we are. We’ve been shutting down any stories we’ve heard but again I’m so so sorry.’
Jane Doe responded to say her memories of the night were ‘super clouded too,’ and said it was because ‘we were all way to f***ing drunk and high.’
‘At the end of the day none of the sexual stuff was illegal, and honestly i really liked being w u and matt,’ she wrote.
‘So anything anyone has to say about the gangbang is out of their jurisdiction. I don’t think we should feel any shame for the part. our body our choice asf.’
However, the texts show Jane Doe’s attitude towards the incident changed in the days after those texts, and she went on to tell Ingalls that ‘Jonathan def told people.’
Ingalls denied Jane Doe’s claim that Newell spread rumors about their tryst, but she responded: ‘I’m j dropping it i give up im defeated.’
When Jane Doe then said she was uninvited from the Chi Phi Halloween party, she said: ‘i knew this was going to happen. the woman will always get the short end of the stick. Yall aren’t my friends. yall are covering your asses.’
On November 7, 2024, Ingalls then reached out to Jane Doe, saying: ‘My ex told me that I’m being labeled as an assaulter in the public eye, I was going to ask if you may have said something along those lines to someone but i know you wouldn’t.’
Jane Doe said she hadn’t told anyone the story, but wrote: ‘I do know people are changing the narrative because like in any sexual scenario w one woman and many men the woman was probably victim.’
‘I know there are rumors I was gang banged,’ she wrote.
On November 8, he asked if they could talk, but she fired back: ‘I think I’m done talking to you. I know you lied.’