The Cornell Seven: an independent archive A 32°N project (32north.bm)

Cornell 7 Archive

Index

A public record of the 2024 Chi Phi case and how institutions responded

We collect court filings, official statements, and reporting on the case, in date order and with sources for every entry, and we separate what has been alleged from what has been established.

Where things stand

as of

No one has been criminally charged. A civil lawsuit filed in mid-September 2026 is pending. On October 1, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor, taking the criminal investigation over from the Tompkins County District Attorney, who had reopened it. The special prosecutor can present evidence to a grand jury if she finds it warranted. Since November 4, former federal prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly has led the investigation for her. Five of the seven defendants are asking a court to remove the Attorney General; a judge heard arguments on October 29 and has not ruled. Cornell's trustees have hired former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to lead an independent review of its response, and on November 6 the Faculty Senate voted no confidence in the administration's handling of sexual assault.

Read the full summary: what we know

Still contested or unknown

Every entry in this archive cites its source. We prefer court filings, then official statements, then established news outlets, and we label each contested claim as alleged, disputed, confirmed, or unresolved. A good place to start is the timeline.

Photo slot. Upload a file named photo-home.jpeg to fill it. Collage of the Cornell University entrance sign and a Tudor-style house, with two people in the foreground.

What Happened

Jane Doe hid under the covers of the bed. "[Male Number 7] said something very rude and mean to [her]." Male Number 7 apologized and "grabbed [her] face and started kissing [her]." Jane Doe "quickly backed away to stop [Male Number 7] from kissing [her]."
"[Male Number 1] would eventually wake up" and "said he wanted to take part and asked about making it a foursome, to which [Jane Doe] said 'Hell No.'" Jane Doe rejected this request "because [she] knew that a foursome meant that [she] would have to take part in anal sex."
"At that point, [Male Number 2] poured a line of Ketamine on his erect penis, implying for [her] to snort the line. [Jane Doe] snorted the line of Ketamine, which was a heavy amount of Ketamine."
She described her level of intoxication as "8 out of 10" at this point. "The threesome continued until at some point, around 5:45am [Jane Doe] said [she] was tired and needed to turn in."
The woman in the text chain replied that her memory is "super clouded too," and said they had all been heavily intoxicated. She also wrote, "non(e) of the sexual stuff was illegal." She said she liked being with him and another man. Later, she suggested they smoke together again, "but like leave out the extra 5 billion men and ketamine."

Images 1 to 4: Jane Doe's recollection, from her November 2024 sworn statement as published in the Tompkins County District Attorney's statement of September 28, 2026. Image 5: alleged text messages between Jane Doe and one of the defendants, which CBS News obtained from a source, as reported by HuffPost on September 29, 2026. Her attorney confirmed that the two had texted but could not confirm these are the same messages. Unresolved

In this archive

  1. 00What we know

    The case in plain terms: what is alleged, who is investigating, what Cornell did, and what happens next.

  2. 01The Seven

    The seven students named as defendants in the lawsuit, none of whom has been charged, and the plaintiff.

  3. 02The Evidence

    Quotes, documents, and images from the public record, each vetted against its source.

  4. 03Timeline

    Every development from October 2024 to now, with its source.

  5. 04Status tracker

    Each contested or uncertain claim, its current label, and what each side says.

  6. 05Institutional response

    What Cornell, campus police, and prosecutors did, and when, and how campus discipline differs from prosecution.

  7. 06Methodology

    How we choose sources, how we label claims, and what we will not publish.

  8. Contact

    Corrections, sources, and questions.