The Jane Doe who says she was gang-raped by several members of Cornell University's Chi Phi fraternity in 2024 told a university panel that she felt prostituted during the alleged incident, according to a transcript obtained by ABC News. The former student made the remarks to the panel several months after the alleged October 2024 sexual assault, in what is the latest revelation in a case that has been full of bombshells.
In the transcript, the woman described being held up like bait for a gaggle of men, recalling a dark room with shadows of men moving in and out constantly, and a sense that there was a joke she was not in on. She implored the university to remove the alleged rapists from campus to make the whole Cornell community safer, the transcript showed.
The case has produced a series of dramatic developments since it became public. Video surfaced of two fraternity members who are not part of her civil suit telling police they understood everything that happened to have been consensual. And Matthew Ingalls, one of the Chi Phi members ultimately expelled from the school over the incident, claimed that Jane Doe sodomized him on the night she alleges he sexually assaulted her.
The woman says the worst part of the night was when she was allegedly raped in a closet. Her civil suit against the fraternity and its members continues to work its way through the courts, and the university has faced mounting pressure over how it handled the aftermath of the alleged assault.
The case has become one of the most high-profile Greek-life scandals in recent years, drawing attention to long-standing concerns about fraternity culture at elite universities. Cornell has previously faced criticism over hazing and sexual misconduct allegations within its fraternity system, and the Chi Phi case has intensified calls for stronger oversight and accountability.
Campus safety advocates say the newly revealed transcript underscores how alleged victims experience university disciplinary processes. The panel hearing at which Jane Doe testified was part of Cornell's internal adjudication proceedings, separate from the criminal and civil cases. Legal observers note that the outcome of the civil litigation could have significant implications for how universities police fraternity houses, which have historically operated with considerable autonomy. The October 2024 incident allegedly took place at the fraternity's house in Ithaca, New York, and the civil litigation is expected to continue into next year. Cornell has not commented on the newly disclosed transcript beyond its prior statements about cooperating with law enforcement.