Editor's note: This article references sexual assault.
More than 1,000 pages of interview transcripts, police reports and Cornell investigative records obtained by The New York Times reveal the punishments imposed on each of the seven student defendants in the Chi Phi sexual assault case.
The punishment decisions were made by a three-person panel tasked with enforcing federal civil rights protections at Cornell under Title IX, which concluded that Jane Doe was sexually assaulted by two of the men she accused, while the others received lesser punishments.
Two defendants were expelled, two defendants were suspended and issued disciplinary probations, one defendant was issued a persona non grata, and two defendants were issued no-contact orders, “educational modules” and “reflection papers.”
Expulsions Issued
Defendant Matthew Ingalls and defendant Jonathan Newell were both expelled.
Ingalls, was named in the lawsuit as the friend Jane Doe initially went to meet at the Chi Phi house, and who allegedly asked Jane Doe if she wanted to engage in a threesome with him and Newell.
Newell also allegedly sent a Snapchat message in a fraternity-wide group chat inviting other fraternity members to enter the room where Jane Doe was undressed, according to discipline summaries obtained by The Times.
Jane Doe claimed that the men pressured her into consuming ketamine and alcohol and eventually other defendants joined in sexual activity without her consent while she was incapacitated, according to the lawsuit.
Ingalls was accused of sexual assault, as he was willing to “manipulate, exploit and endanger Jane Doe out of self-interest and for the entertainment of others,” according to The Times.
The panel also found Newell responsible for sexual assault, according to the University’s files. According to the lawsuit, he struck Jane Doe with enough force during intercourse to leave bruises on her buttocks, and he had manipulated her to ingest ketamine.
Ingalls and Newell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Suspensions Issued
Defendants Winston Lee and Gillio Lopes were both issued suspensions and disciplinary probation — Lee for allegedly inhaling ketamine off of Jane Doe’s body and forcing oral sex on her, and Lopes for allegedly having sex with Jane Doe without her consent.
In addition to a two-year suspension, Lee was also punished with several semesters of disciplinary probation upon his return.
Lee’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lopes was issued a three-semester suspension and two years of probation according to the discipline summaries, as reported by The Times.
Both Lee and Lopes were issued no-contact orders with Jane Doe and were mandated to study sexual harassment and to write “reflection papers.”
Lopes did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment.
Three-Year Campus Ban
The Times reported that Diego Sarabia, who graduated before the disciplinary panel’s conclusion, was issued a persona non grata order — barring him from campus for three years — for allegedly forcibly kissing Jane Doe.
In the lawsuit, Sarabia allegedly entered the room with multiple other fraternity men, at which point Doe allegedly “retreated under the covers of her bed to hide her naked body.”
Sarabia then “grabbed her face and started kissing” Jane Doe without her consent before she “pushed him away,” the lawsuit alleges.
Sarabia did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment.
No-Contact Orders and Educational Sanctions
Defendants Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar were issued no-contact orders with Jane Doe and were ordered to complete “educational modules” on sexual harassment, social media use and bystander intervention. They were also ordered to write “reflection papers.”
Both were accused of entering the room after Newell sent a Snapchat message to the Chi Phi groupchat, according to the lawsuit.
Norris did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment.
A lawsuit against Cornell, which The Times claims was filed by Kretzschmar, revealed that he was found responsible for attempted sexual exploitation.
In a statement to The Sun, Jeremy Saland, an attorney for Kretzschmar, stated that “Scott did not know of or observe any of this conduct, it is unfair and unjust to treat and accuse him as if he committed such a horrid crime.”
While he admitted that Kretzschmar was “part of a deplorable SnapChat,” Saland maintained his client never saw Jane Doe naked and never saw her in duress.
A spokesperson from the University wrote to The Sun that the “Title IX investigation resulted in a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell.”
The spokesperson reiterated to The Sun that none of the individuals charged were assigned writing essays as a “sole consequence of their involvement.”
Cereese Qusba is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She was a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board and is a senior editor for the 144th Editorial Board. She can be reached at cqusba@cornellsun.com.
