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

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The Seven

The seven Cornell students named as defendants in Jane Doe's civil lawsuit, and the plaintiff who brought it.

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None of these seven men has been charged with a crime. No court has found any of them responsible for anything. They appear here only because they are named as defendants in a civil lawsuit. The lawsuit's claims are one side's account and have not been tested in court. At least one of them denies the allegations. The Tompkins County District Attorney has said the case will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide whether any charges are brought.

Being named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit means a person has been sued for money damages. It is not a criminal charge. A criminal charge would come from a prosecutor or a grand jury indictment, and a conviction would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. See how campus discipline and criminal prosecution differ.

Cornell says its hearing panel issued sanctions that included expulsions and suspensions, but it has not said which students received which. One other defendant, not identified by ABC News, has denied sexual activity or drug use while acknowledging he sent a message included in the complaint.

Sources for this section: Cornell statement, September 28, 2026, ABC News, District Attorney's statement, September 28, 2026

The seven defendants

Tap a name to see what is on the public record. Numbers follow the order in which the complaint lists the defendants and have no connection to the District Attorney's "Male Number" labels. We give only the information described in the methodology: no photos, addresses, employers, or social media. Last updated September 30, 2026.

  1. 01 Matthew Ingalls Named defendant. Not charged. 2027

    C7-P-01

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court.
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2027, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Not confirmed. The Sun reported his college is listed as "not applicable" in the Cornell directory (September 2026).
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    None found. NPR reported it tried to reach the men named in the suit without success.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR; complaint, paras. 87 to 89 (not linked)

  2. 02 Johnathan Newell Named defendant. Not charged. 2027

    C7-P-02

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court. The complaint spells his first name "Johnathan"; some reports spell it "Jonathan."
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2027, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Not confirmed. The Sun reported his college is listed as "not applicable" in the Cornell directory (September 2026).
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    None found. NPR reported it tried to reach the men named in the suit without success.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR; complaint, paras. 90 to 92 (not linked)

  3. 03 Winston Lee Named defendant. Not charged. 2027

    C7-P-03

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court.
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2027, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Listed as a current student in the Cornell directory, according to The Sun in September 2026.
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    None found. NPR reported it tried to reach the men named in the suit without success.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR; complaint, paras. 93 to 95 (not linked)

  4. 04 Gillio Lopes Named defendant. Not charged. 2027

    C7-P-04

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court.
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2027, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Listed as a current student in the Cornell directory, according to The Sun in September 2026.
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    None found. NPR reported it tried to reach the men named in the suit without success.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR; complaint, paras. 96 to 98 (not linked)

  5. 05 Diego Sarabia Named defendant. Not charged. 2025

    C7-P-05

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court.
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2025, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Listed as an alumnus in the Cornell directory, according to The Sun in September 2026.
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    None found. NPR reported it tried to reach the men named in the suit without success.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR; complaint, paras. 99 to 101 (not linked)

  6. 06 Scott Norris Named defendant. Not charged. 2026

    C7-P-06

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court.
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2026, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Not confirmed. The Sun reported his college is listed as "not applicable" in the Cornell directory (September 2026).
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    None found. NPR reported it tried to reach the men named in the suit without success.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR; complaint, paras. 102 to 104 (not linked)

  7. 07 Scott Kretzschmar Named defendant. Not charged. 2026

    C7-P-07

    Legal status
    Named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit. Not charged with any crime. No court has found him responsible for anything.
    How he appears in the complaint
    Named as one of seven student defendants. The complaint says that at the time he was a full-time Cornell undergraduate and a member of Chi Phi's Xi chapter. Its claims against the student defendants are allegations that have not been tested in court.
    Cornell class year
    Class of 2026, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun.
    Current status at Cornell
    Not confirmed. The Sun reported his college is listed as "not applicable" in the Cornell directory (September 2026).
    Age
    Not publicly reported.
    Public response
    Through his attorney, Jeremy Saland, he denies the allegations. Saland told The Cornell Daily Sun that no investigative body found him liable for sexual assault, and that the District Attorney "filed no charges against Scott because what alleged did not happen," according to NPR. Saland told the BBC that his client "responded to and made an immature comment on Snapchat" but "did nothing else," and "was involved in no sexual activity nor touched the plaintiff in any way and ingested no ketamine," according to CBC News. Saland told CBS News that the Snapchat messages were inappropriate but not evidence of sexual assault, that his client briefly entered the room and left without touching the plaintiff, that Cornell found his client not responsible for anything she alleges in her complaint, and that a hair follicle test showed no ketamine in his system.

    Sources: The Cornell Daily Sun, NPR, CBC News, CBS News; complaint, paras. 105 to 107 (not linked)

The plaintiff: Jane Doe

We include only details that she has made public through her lawsuit or attorneys, and that news organizations have reported. We leave out details that could narrow down who she is.

Who she is in the case
A former Cornell undergraduate, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe. She is the plaintiff in the civil lawsuit.
Age
20 at the time of the alleged assault in October 2024.
At Cornell
According to the lawsuit, she enrolled as an undergraduate in 2022 and was a member of a sorority. Her attorney has said she left Cornell after the alleged assault.
What she reported, and when
She reported the incident to Cornell University Police on or about November 8, 2024, and gave police a six-page sworn statement. She later filed a complaint with Cornell's Title IX office, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit
Filed in New York County Supreme Court in mid-September 2026. It seeks damages from the seven students, Cornell, fraternity and sorority organizations, a local bar, and others. Its allegations have not been tested in court.
What she has said
She has spoken publicly only through her attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra. He has said that "Ms. Doe has had her dreams destroyed as a result of what has happened to her," and that although having her trauma made public has been difficult, "she has been gratified by the outpouring of support." He has also said she spoke with no one other than the officer who took her original report, and that "opportunities to fully investigate these crimes were lost."
What the District Attorney has said about her
That her 2024 sworn statement described events differently from the lawsuit, and that her credibility "was never in question." See the Status Tracker.

Sources: NPR, The Ithaca Voice, CBC News, ABC News, District Attorney's statement, September 28, 2026; complaint, paras. 117, 179 and 183 (not linked)