A secretly recorded phone call is now public in the Cornell fraternity alleged gang rape case. ABC News obtained the recording and aired portions of it Monday on Good Morning America.
The call was recorded on November 7, 2024, one day before a woman identified in court papers as Jane Doe went to Cornell campus police. On the call she confronts Matthew Ingalls, one of seven former Chi Phi fraternity members she accuses of sexually assaulting her at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024. Her lawsuit, filed September 16, also names the fraternity and Cornell University, and claims she was drugged with ketamine and assaulted over several hours while incapacitated.
On the recording, she tells Ingalls she arrived at the house already heavily intoxicated, saying she was “10 shots deep.” He pushes back, saying she told him she was sober and had not been anywhere beforehand. She denies that. He describes dancing with her for a few minutes, then asking about a threesome with another member. When she asks how so many men ended up in the room, he says the party was crowded and people were filling the space. She says she looked up and saw “too many people.” He suggests they could both be misremembering.
What he never mentions on the call, according to ABC News, are Snapchat messages attributed to him inviting other fraternity members to the room, including messages telling them to “whip it out.” ABC also reported text messages showing fraternity members going into “damage control” after she reported to campus police, trying to make sure she was “not upset about the situation.”
Cornell barred the Chi Phi chapter from campus after the alleged incident and says a hearing panel handed down expulsions and suspensions. Campus police forwarded a summary of her statement to the Tompkins County district attorney, who declined to bring criminal charges at the time. Governor Kathy Hochul has since rebuked the district attorney’s handling of the case, and students have protested the university’s response.
Lawyers for two of the former students have denied they participated in a sexual assault, according to the Associated Press. Court records show some of the accused told Cornell investigators the sexual activity was consensual. All of the allegations remain unproven, and no criminal charges have been filed.