What we know so far about the Cornell students accused of gang raping Jane Doe
Cornell University, one of the most prestigious schools in America, has been in the spotlight ever since a female former student accused seven frat brothers of sexually assaulting her at a party two years ago.
Umar Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Noris and Scott Kretzschmar allegedly gang-raped a female former student at a frat party on October 19, 2024, according to a lawsuit filed in September by the woman.
The alleged victim, only identified as Jane Doe, has claimed that the Chi Phi fraternity members engaged in sexual acts with her while she was incapacitated and without her consent.
She’s also alleged that the men manipulated her into ingesting ketamine and alcohol that night, per the filing. The men have denied all the accusations.
Jane Doe, then a 20-year-old sophomore, first reported the allegations in 2024, but after an investigation by Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, no charges were filed.
But after her recent lawsuit, the office has reopened the case, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul has tapped Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor.
More details continue to unfold, including information on the frat members and what allegedly took place that evening.
Here is what we know so far on the men accused of sexually assaulting Jane Doe.
Cornell University, one of the most prestigious schools in America, has been in the spotlight since a former female student accused seven frat brothers of sexually assaulting her at a party in 2024
Her lawsuit included an image of a Snapchat group chat that was allegedly used as a way for Chi Phi frat brothers to communicate. In it, one of them told the more than 50 members, ‘Free p****’
Umar Matthew Ingalls
The alleged incident started when Ingalls invited her to the frat house, according to Jane Doe’s lawsuit.
On the night of October 19, 2024, a then 20-year-old Jane Doe went to two bars in Ithaca, New York, with her sorority sisters.
In the span of three hours, she said that she consumed about 10 drinks, the suit stated.
At around 11pm, she left the second bar and walked alone to the Chi Phi fraternity house after Ingalls invited her over, the filing said.
Once inside, he offered her a beer and danced with her before pulling them aside to a quieter area where he asked her if she would be open to having a threesome with him and one of his fraternity brothers, Jane Doe claimed.
She agreed to it and was led upstairs by Ingalls and his fellow brother, Jonathan Newell, the lawsuit stated.
It was there that they pressured her into taking drugs and drinking liquor before engaging in sexual acts, Jane Doe claimed.
Ingalls, then 21, started at Cornell University in 2023 and was later expelled following the school’s internal investigation.
Umar Matthew Ingalls (pictured) invited Jane Doe to the home that night before asking her if she wanted to take part in a threesome with him and one of his frat brothers, according to her lawsuit
The fraternity closed its doors on campus after the school conducted an internal investigation that saw Ingalls and Newell expelled
He is now believed to have returned to Dubai, where he grew up as a child, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed.
Jonathan Newell
Newell is the second frat brother who was expelled from the campus after Jane Doe said that he and Ingalls led her to a room where the alleged sexual assault occurred.
He has also been accused of sending a message that read ‘Free p****’ to a Snapchat group chat that more than 50 Chi Phi members were a part of, the lawsuit alleged.
The 21-year-old is from Broward, Florida, according to 12 News.
Newell, who has never been charged with a crime, enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earlier this year, hoping to resume his studies and put the sordid episode behind him.
However, the Daily Mail understands that he was ordered to stay away from NSU property last week after a flood of complaints from anxious parents.
NSU President Harry Moon released a carefully worded statement Monday morning confirming steps were taken to ‘safeguard’ students.
‘We are all concerned about reports of serious allegations of sexual abuse that occurred approximately two years ago at another university and may involve a student who later transferred to NSU,’ Moon wrote.
‘NSU takes these allegations seriously. The safety and well-being of each member of our campus community is a top priority.’
Moon did not mention Newell by name, nor say whether the undisclosed safeguarding measures were temporary or permanent.
He told students, staff and faculty that the prestigious private university was unaware of the Jane Doe allegations when the newcomer enrolled.
Jonathan Newell, pictured holding a plaque with his last name as a high school student, has been booted from another college campus, the Daily Mail has learned
The 21-year-old quietly enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earlier this year after being expelled from Cornell University
Protests have broken out across campus after Jane Doe filed her lawsuit in September
Scott Kretzschmar
Kretzschmar, now 22, is another one of the seven named in the lawsuit.
Following the internal Title IX investigation by Cornell, he and Norris were found responsible for attempted sexual exploitation.
He admitted to entering the room after seeing Newell’s Snapchat message, but said he was only in there briefly, NBC News reported.
Kretzschmar also said he did not touch Jane Doe, did not see her naked, did not ingest ketamine, and did not observe the woman in distress, the outlet reported.
As a result of the investigation, Kretzschmar was banned from ever contacting Jane Doe, had to study sexual harassment and social media use and bystander intervention, and was ordered to write an essay, Jane Doe’s lawsuit stated.
After her lawsuit was filed, it was revealed that Kretzschmar had launched his own legal battle against the school just months earlier.
While the man is identified in his own court filings as John Doe, Jeremy Saland represents him, and he is the same attorney for Kretzschmar.
In the court filing obtained by the Daily Mail, he claimed that the prestigious university pulled a ‘bait-and-switch’ on him by finding him responsible for a disciplinary violation he was never charged with in connection with the case.
John Doe, who refers to the victim as Jane Roe in his court filings, claimed that Cornell’s disciplinary board charged him with sexual assault and sexual exploitation after she first reported the alleged rape.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (left) also tapped Attorney General Letitia James (right) as special prosecutor
After an evidentiary hearing, a panel that included Cornell faculty and staff found that John Doe was not responsible for the two charges brought against him.
However, the panel ruled he was responsible for attempted sexual exploitation, which John Doe insists he was neither charged with nor notified he was being considered for, according to his lawsuit.
He appealed that finding because he claimed that one of the hearing panel members, Savannah Bao, was ‘literally driving in her car for 45 minutes and was otherwise distracted while a witness favorable to Doe was testifying,’ the filing stated.
‘At the very least, it tainted the hearing with an appearance of impropriety and the clear possibility that Bao missed critical testimony that prevented her from fairly assessing the evidence. It was also incredibly distracting.’
The lawsuit stated that Bao was the director of Cornell’s online master’s degree program for the business school at the time of the hearing.
Bao’s LinkedIn profile appeared to be down as of Monday, and she is nowhere to be found on Corenll’s website. The Daily Mail contacted the school for comment.
