▶ Watch Video: More texts revealed between Jane Doe, accused in fraternity rape case
It was a Monday evening around dinner time when a text popped up on Jane Doe’s cellphone on Oct. 21, 2024, less than 48 hours after a night of excessive drinking, drug use and group sex at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Cornell University campus.
Over two weeks of intermittent texting, in messages obtained by CBS News, Doe told one of the fraternity members they shouldn’t feel shame and asked him to look for earrings she thought she lost that night.
She also told him, in a message dated Nov. 3, that “90% of what happened that night was not consensual,” and the man replied that if he’d been “less f[—]ed up and even somewhat aware of the situation and how out of hand it got I would’ve shut it down,” adding, “i’m so so sorry.”
Cornell’s Title IX investigation would later find the man responsible for sexual assault and he was expelled, according to her lawyer and The New York Times.
Jane Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, told CBS News her messages reflected “classic symptoms of delayed recognition,” calling it “a textbook response to sexual assault.”
The man is named in her civil lawsuit but has not been charged with a crime. CBS News is identifying him here and in other coverage as MALE 2, of the seven named in the suit. He has denied wrongdoing. The district attorney declined to bring charges after an investigation in 2024.
Here is the full text exchange, as obtained by CBS News, including messages that have not previously been reported:
Monday, Oct. 21, 2024
6:54 PM | [MALE 2]
Hey [JANE DOE] this is [MALE 2]. [REDACTED] gave me ur number. I just wanted to apologize for how things went down the other night. My memory’s kinda fuzzy abt a lot of it but me and [MALE 1] both feel like s[–]t for being too f[—]ed up to shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand. You’re an amazing person and I genuinely hope ur not catching as much heat from this as we r. We’ve been shutting down any stories we’ve heard but again I’m so so sorry.
10:05 PM | JANE DOE
aw [MALE 2] i really appreciate this text. my memories super clouded too. i think we were all way to f[—]ing drunk and high. i’m getting a little heat (pi phi girls ([REDACTED] and [REDACTED]) can’t get my name out of their mouth)) but that’s to be expected. but at the end of the day non of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly i really liked being w u and [MALE 1]. 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. our body our choice asf,,
also yes while it may have been nice for like only 4 people to have been around, yall were both super out of it and they should have taken it on themselves to leave. at the end of the day you, [MALE 1], and i were in your bed and they didn’t need to get up in that.
but if you have any regrets or anything you want to talk about i am always here to talk about it cause that was a lot. i really do love u and [MALE 1] and i promise i wont get quiet and weird w u like i did last time <4
p.s. i’m not sure if u remember but i did ket off your d[—] at some point ? and i honestly think that was one of the most insane/jaw dropping moments of the night
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024
1:09 AM | [MALE 2]
I’m just glad ur ok, I was kinda upset w all the stories going around earlier but at the end of the day that’s all they r
[MALE 2]
And I have no memory of that last part😭
JANE DOE
oh jesus not the stories i don’t even think i wanna know. i know im socially a massive slut rn and i like can’t bare to hear it cause im really not.
JANE DOE (threaded reply to the message about having no memory)
insane truly
[MALE 2] (threaded reply to Jane Doe’s message about stories)
Funny enough I haven’t heard ur name yet in any of them, someone thought [REDACTED] od’d in the room tho
JANE DOE (marked “Edited” in screenshot)
i heard that one too but it was the night before??… honestly it was such a good time for it to happen cause i heard everyone went feral that friday and saturday
[MALE 2]
Oh ya it was
[MALE 2]
But pretty good timing, just makes everything less believable
JANE DOE
it’ll be funny in a couple months
[MALE 2]
So funny
JANE DOE
we should smoke again sometime but like leave out the extra 5 billion men and ketamine
[MALE 2]
Oh definitely
[MALE 2]
I’m off hard drugs for good
JANE DOE
oh also i lost two earrings so if u find them that’s my bad
JANE DOE
me too
[MALE 2]
I’ll look when I clean tmrw after class
JANE DOE
marked it on rice purity so i’m good i’ve got all the mom lore i need
[MALE 2]
😂
JANE DOE
✌️💋
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024
1:16 AM | JANE DOE
[REDACTED] said i should talk to u rn? what happened
10:45 AM | [MALE 2]
Huh?
[MALE 2]
That’s odd nothing happened
12:03 PM | [MALE 2]
Ohh I was at pi phi last night I think that’s it
[MALE 2]
I went like fully prepared to be interrogated and deny everything but they never even brought it up
[MALE 2]
I think it’s mostly blown over by now
Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024
3:08 AM | JANE DOE
did you find my earrings my mom gave them to me for my birthday i really want them back
10:23AM | [MALE 2]
I’m sorry I havent’ seen them, I’ll look more when I get back from class what do they look like?
4:08 PM | JANE DOE (Doe sends pic of her ear that shows lost earrings)
it’s the first and 3rd one
5:29 PM | [MALE 2]
Ok i’ll look rn
How r u btw?
8:34 PM [MALE 2]
Cleaned my section of the room and didn’t find them, I’ll do a full room clean tmrw and look, sry I’ve been busy w setup
Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024
11:56 PM | JANE DOE
let’s be clear that 90% of what happened that night was not consensual. i was given more key than i can remember and i know that i told you i felt uncomfortable and i didn’t know anyone in the room. all i remember after that was u giving me ket to do off your d[—] in front of everyone like a sex doll/worker.
Monday, Nov. 4, 2024
10:01 AM | [MALE 2]
And I don’t remember any of this happening which is why Ive been feeling so terrible abt the whole situation. And I know that is no excuse and neither is how f[—]ed up I was but i genuinely want u to know and hope u know that had I been less f[—]ed up and even somewhat aware of the situation and how out of hand it got I would’ve shut it down the second guys started walking in the room. Like [JANE DOE] I am so so sorry for everything that happened that night and everything you’ve been going through since. U r genuinely someone I respect so much and one of the strongest ppl I know and even though you’re pissed with me for what happened which is completely warranted, I still want to be here for u as someone u can talk to or come to when u need anything. Again, i’m so so sorry and there’s no excuse for anything but I’m begging u please talk to me bc I wanna be here for u thru this
The text exchange obtained by CBS News ends there.
The Cornell investigation
The seven former fraternity members named in Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit have not been charged with a crime. They have denied wrongdoing.
Cornell conducted a Title IX investigation after Jane Doe, then a 20-year-old sophomore, reported allegations of sexual assault in 2024. In an interview with investigators, she described what she said began as a consensual sexual encounter with Males 1 and 2 before she claims she was pushed to take ketamine and other men allegedly joined in without her consent.
In an interview with Cornell University police, she said, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped,” according to a transcript obtained by CBS News New York.
Following its investigation, Cornell said it expelled two of the men, two others were suspended for at least two semesters, one had graduated before sanctions could be imposed, and two were found not responsible for sexual misconduct.
Cornell has now appointed a former Justice Department official, Sally Yates, to review its handling of sexual misconduct allegations on campus, including but not limited to the alleged sexual assault of Jane Doe.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to take over the case from the local district attorney — a decision several of the former fraternity members are challenging in court.
The Chi Phi fraternity chapter on campus was shut down in 2024, and Cornell has now suspended all fraternity parties for the rest of the school year.
