A former student told a university panel she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024. Seven men she accused deny wrongdoing, according to records reviewed by ABC News.
ABC News reviewed transcripts from a 12-day Cornell University disciplinary hearing. A former student said that in October 2024 she was pressured to drink alcohol and take ketamine at the Chi Phi fraternity house before being sexually assaulted by a group of men. She said she does not remember everything that happened.
The seven men she accused deny wrongdoing. Some said the encounter was consensual, while others said they had been in the room but did not take part in sexual activity. A friend told the panel that the student may initially have thought it was consensual because she was in shock. The transcripts document statements in a university proceeding, not findings by a criminal court.
The closed-door hearing was held in spring 2025. Three months later, the university panel expelled two students and suspended two others. ABC reported that the hearing records were not shared with Tompkins County prosecutors. Prosecutors had earlier declined to bring charges, although Cornell police conducted their own investigation. In September, the former student filed a civil lawsuit against the university and seven former students. All the men deny wrongdoing.
State authorities assigned a separate criminal investigation, the Associated Press reported. Cornell has also asked former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to independently review the university’s procedures for preventing and investigating sexual harassment and assault.