New details have emerged in the Cornell gang rape allegations involving members of the Chi Phi fraternity, following the release of a recorded phone conversation between the woman identified as Jane Doe and fraternity member Matthew Ingalls.
The recording, obtained by ABC News, reportedly took place in November 2024, shortly before Doe reported the alleged incident to Cornell University police. The conversation provides another account of how Doe and Ingalls remembered the events at the fraternity house.
The allegations concern an October 19, 2024 gathering at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Doe has alleged that multiple men sexually assaulted her after she became intoxicated and used substances. The men named in her later civil lawsuit have denied wrongdoing. Ingalls has not been criminally charged.
Content warning: This article discusses allegations of rape and sexual assault.
What the Cornell recording reportedly shows
According to ABC News, Doe spoke with Ingalls by phone shortly before going to Cornell University Police.
During the conversation, Doe said she was trying to understand what happened because she had gaps in her memory. She questioned Ingalls about how several people ended up in the bedroom where the alleged sexual encounters occurred.
Ingalls disputed parts of her recollection. According to the recording reported by ABC News, he maintained that Doe had told him she was sober.
Doe rejected that characterization and continued to question what happened during the night.
The conversation therefore presents conflicting recollections from the two people involved. It does not, by itself, establish the legal truth of the allegations.
Doe questioned how multiple men entered the room.
One part of the recorded conversation concerns the number of people who were allegedly present.
Doe asked Ingalls how the other men entered the bedroom. According to ABC News, Ingalls said the door had been unlocked and that the fraternity party was crowded.
Doe later told him that she believed what happened could be classified as gang rape. Ingalls questioned whether their memories of the night were accurate.
The exchange is significant because it provides another piece of evidence concerning the competing accounts of the October 2024 incident.
Cornell’s investigation and the allegations
Cornell conducted an internal investigation that began in November 2024 and continued through May 2025, according to ABC News’ review of university records.
Cornell’s public statements say its Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards investigated and adjudicated the allegations. The university has cited federal privacy rules when explaining why it cannot publicly disclose individual disciplinary outcomes. Cornell has said that sanctions from the proceedings included expulsions and suspensions.
The Chi Phi chapter involved in the case was closed by Cornell in 2024 and has remained barred from campus, according to a Cornell Student Assembly resolution.
The criminal investigation has been reopened.
The case has also moved back into the criminal justice system.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten initially declined to bring criminal charges in 2024. According to AP reporting, the investigation was later reopened amid renewed scrutiny surrounding the case.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul subsequently appointed Attorney General Letitia James to oversee the investigation as a special prosecutor. The appointment came as criticism intensified over the handling of the original investigation.
As of the latest reporting, no individual involved in the case has been criminally charged.
What remains disputed in the Cornell case
The allegations remain contested.
Doe’s civil lawsuit describes the encounter as a sexual assault involving multiple men and alleges that substances were used to impair her ability to consent. The defendants have denied wrongdoing.
At the same time, records from the original investigation have produced differing accounts of what Doe remembered and when she characterized the encounter as nonconsensual.
A transcript of Doe’s later interview with Cornell campus police, obtained by CBS News, reportedly shows her distinguishing between earlier sexual activity she described as consensual and later events that she said she was certain constituted rape.
Those conflicting accounts are now part of broader scrutiny surrounding the case.
Why the Cornell case is receiving renewed attention
The Cornell allegations have become a major campus-safety controversy because questions have been raised about how the university and law enforcement responded to the original report.
Students and members of the Cornell community have called for greater transparency and changes to the university’s handling of sexual-misconduct cases. Cornell’s Student Assembly has also introduced a resolution seeking greater transparency about sexual-assault investigations and disciplinary outcomes.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff has described the allegations and the university’s handling of the matter as deeply troubling and has backed an external review of the university’s response.
The criminal investigation and civil litigation remain ongoing. As a result, additional evidence and findings could change the understanding of the case.