CBS News received exclusive text messages showing new details regarding the alleged gang rape at Cornell University. A former student alleges being drugged and raped inside the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024. Prosecutors have reopened the investigation, and the Tompkins County District Attorney stated the victim’s original statement doesn’t align with the civil lawsuit. CBS News Investigative Reporter Mahsa Saeidi obtained the new screenshots from a source. The source indicates the former student, identified as Jane Doe, sent texts to one of the defendants accused of rape, who was apologizing for ‘how things went down.’ The messages were sent just two days after the alleged assault, and the man offered a lengthy explanation of his memory being fuzzy and feeling bad for being intoxicated while engaging in excessive drinking.
The woman in the text chain responded that her memory is ‘super clouded too,’ and they had all been heavily intoxicated. The text also suggested they smoke together again, but with a stipulation: ‘leave out the extra 5 billion men and ketamine.’ CBS News New York obtained video footage of the fraternity’s group Snapchat conversation. CBS News also exclusively obtained text messages from Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, confirming she exchanged texts with this defendant shortly after the alleged assault, but he could not confirm whether these were the specific texts. Giuffra stated Doe was in denial and traumatized after the assaults and that she sought to cover up an assault. Giuffra argued investigators failed to fully follow up on evidence and that Doe’s expulsion from the fraternity suggests a lack of serious investigation.
Giuffra said Doe felt like she would not take a aggressive tone with this defendant if she wanted answers. He said Doe was intoxicated to the point of incapacity that night and was trying to find out what happened. Giuffra said Doe felt like she would not take an aggressive tone with this defendant if she wanted answers. Giuffra said this defendant’s expulsion suggests to him they didn’t consider the messages to be significant. He is arguing investigators failed to fully follow up on evidence.
Source: CBS News
