Cornell rape case texts released as prosecutors reopen investigation
Text messages in a 2024 Cornell assault case show the defendant apologizing. He claims he cannot remember what happened.
A Cornell student exchanged text messages with a man accused of assaulting her at a campus fraternity house in October 2024. The messages were published after New York prosecutors said they would reopen the investigation.
The defendant seems to apologize for "how things went down." He says his memory of events is "kinda fuzzy."
He and another man regretted being too drunk to "shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand." The woman claimed she was drugged with ketamine and alcohol.
She said multiple men raped her over seven hours. Seven men were named in her civil lawsuit filed in September.
Two were expelled after a university investigation. The others faced lighter punishments like essays and workshops.
None was ever arrested or charged. Prosecutors said they are reviewing allegations they describe as "dramatically different" from the victim's initial 2024 statement.
- October 2024 at Chi Phi fraternity house
- Assault date
- None of the seven men arrested or charged
- Arrests
Why it mattersThe case shows how campus investigations often fail to punish those responsible. This is especially true when trauma and intoxication make it hard to prove what the victim says.
AustraliaNo direct Australian impact, but Australian universities handle similar cases through internal discipline; this case shows why external criminal investigation matters.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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