Cornell student said encounter at fraternity house ‘felt like coercion’ in 2024 statement to police
Cornell Student Described 2024 Fraternity-House Encounter as Coercive
Tyunews.com – A Cornell University student told campus police in late 2024 that sexual activity at the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca left her feeling unable to make decisions because of heavy intoxication. In a sworn, six-page statement dated Nov. 15, 2024, the student said the events of the previous month “felt like coercion.”
The statement provides the most detailed public account of the episode later described in a civil lawsuit as a gang rape. At the time she spoke with police, the former student did not characterize the encounter that way. Instead, she described several situations in which she declined sexual activity proposed by fraternity members, as well as escalating discomfort during the night.
Decision Not to Bring Charges
The student’s 2024 account played a central role in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s decision not to file criminal charges that year. Van Houten has called the allegations morally disturbing while maintaining that the statement indicated consent to sexual activity.
He said the student did not withdraw consent and that fraternity members stopped when she voiced concerns rather than continuing the conduct in question. The matter has since drawn renewed scrutiny, with the district attorney reopening the case and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul calling for a transparent, independent review of Cornell’s response.
The statement depicts a night in which the student said she was repeatedly placed in uncomfortable situations. She recalled rejecting a suggestion from one fraternity member involving four people.
“No to the foursome.”
At another point, she remembered several men entering a room. She said she immediately reacted with fear and sought cover on another bed because she was embarrassed that they had seen her naked.
“I was instantly horrified, and I remember squealing out loud and running across the room and hiding under the covers on another bed.”
Intoxication and Consent
The statement also focused on the student’s level of intoxication. She said she had taken ketamine and became increasingly distressed by the direction of the night. She explained that she took another dose while thinking that passing out might make any subsequent sex legally recognizable as rape.
“I had become extremely uncomfortable with how this night was turning out so my thought was, if I do Ketamine again maybe I will pass out.”
She said the men continued to pursue sexual activity. During what she described as the final threesome, she recalled feeling exhausted, disgusted and intensely intoxicated. She placed her overall intoxication at eight out of 10 and said it was the most intoxicated she had ever been.
“I felt like I was unable to make any decision because of how intoxicated I was.”
In her written statement, the student linked that condition to her understanding of the encounter.
“To me, that felt like coercion.”
She added that she believed the men should have recognized her state because she was slurring her words. The distinction between a person’s participation and their capacity to make an informed, voluntary decision is central to the dispute surrounding the case. Her account raises questions about how intoxication, expressed discomfort and group dynamics were evaluated during the initial investigation.
Account of Events at the House
The student further recalled becoming so tired that she answered “Sure” when men asked whether they could snort ketamine from her body. She said several men then began pouring substances over her while her face was covered by her hands.
“[The] group of men all started pouring various things all over my body. I couldn’t tell what they were pouring on me, as I had my face covered with my hands.”
She said she remained asleep until roughly 10 a.m. and was driven home by the same Chi Phi member who had invited her to the house and whom she said participated in sexual activity that night.
When she woke later that Sunday afternoon, she said she learned that the incident had become widely known among other students. Friends told her that Chi Phi members were boasting about an “eightsome” involving her. Other rumors placed the number at 10 people, she said, but she wrote that it had become apparent that people knew she was involved.
“It was made clear to me by several friends that the members of Chi Phi were bragging about having an ‘eightsome’ with me.”
Civil Lawsuit Adds Further Allegations
In a civil lawsuit filed two years later, the woman alleged that seven current and former fraternity members drugged, assaulted and gang raped her. Those allegations are separate from the language she used in her 2024 police statement, which centered on coercion, intoxication and her inability to make decisions.
The case has put renewed attention on how colleges, police departments and prosecutors respond when reports involve alcohol or drugs, multiple people and conflicting interpretations of consent. For students, the allegations also underscore the importance of seeking medical care, preserving communications and contacting trusted support services after a suspected assault. Such steps can be important regardless of whether a criminal case is ultimately pursued.
The reopened investigation will revisit an incident that first prompted a decision not to prosecute in 2024, while the civil action advances allegations that have intensified public concern over the response at Cornell.
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