THE CASE
In October 2024, 7 members of the Cornell University chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity – Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar – allegedly raped a drunk and drugged female Cornell student (now known as “Jane Doe”) over the course of 7 hours at their fraternity house. These 7 alleged rapists sent a message to their fraternity’s Snapchat inviting the rest of their frat brothers – all 50 of them – to participate in the gang rape. They even shared a picture of Jane Doe. In the days following the attack, the Cornell 7 also contacted Jane Doe every day to gaslight and pacify her in an attempt to prevent her from reporting the gang rape to the authorities.
What followed was a major cover-up and damage control by the Cornell administration, calculated to silence Jane Doe and protect both the alleged rapists and Cornell itself:
- The Cornell administration “punished” the 7 rapists by temporarily suspending them, instructing them to submit essays, and then only expelling 2 out of 7 of them.
- Cornell forced Jane Doe to stay on for another semester on campus (during which she regularly encountered the men who raped her) by refusing to refund her tuition fees which would have enabled her to leave.
- The full version of the initial report lodged by the victim was not provided to the County District Attorney’s office. Instead, Cornell’s campus police only submitted a 6-page summary which removed critical portions of the report including the victim’s unequivocal statement that she was raped.
- The County District Attorney’s office then declined to review material gathered by university police other than that six-page summary. Based on just that summary document, D.A. Matthew Van Houten failed to bring criminal charges against the Cornell 7, stating that Jane Doe’s initial statement to campus police did not allege non-consent or drugging.
In September 2026, Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit regarding her gang rape. This triggered a huge public uproar against the Cornell 7 and the university. It also forced the D.A. to reopen the case and acknowledge his initial willful negligence.
As of the publication of this statement, Jane Doe’s civil suit has reignited public discussion about rape culture and how male and class privilege shields men who rape, including the following responses:
- Kathy Hochul, the Governor of New York, has appointed Attorney General Letitia James to take over the case as special prosecutor.
- Korean and Korean American netizens have started tracking down Winston Lee, the sole South Korean rapist among the Cornell 7.
- Major feminist celebrities such as Christina Ricci, Florence Pugh, Jameela Jamil, Josh Gad, Mariska Hargitay, and Olivia Rodrigo have publicly spoken out in support of Jane Doe and in backlash against Cornell, rape culture, and violence against women in universities and in society.
- Cornell students have started anti-rape protests at the university in support of Jane Doe.
- A growing number of Cornell alumni are calling for all alumni to hold their alma mater responsible and to cease donations until the university is held accountable.
- Jane Doe has been targeted by threats to dox, silence or harm her should she not withdraw her civil suit. This galvanised the #IamJaneDoe campaign by women worldwide in solidarity with her and to keep her identity safe.
THE PIXEL PROJECT’S STATEMENT
We stand with Jane Doe and with all women who are victims of rape and sexual assault on campus and wider society.
We vehemently object to the case being referred to as the “Cornell 7” case. The accurate moniker for it should and must be the “Cornell 57” case because rape culture and violence against women do not happen – and have never happened – in a vacuum:
Far too many rapists (97% – 99% of which are men) are propped up by the global patriarchy that turns a blind eye when men and boys bond with each other over the abuse, rape, and killing of women and girls.
Far too many rapists get away scot-free or with a mere slap on the wrist and even go on to have lucrative careers while continuing to leave a trail of female victims behind.
Far too many rapists – especially men from privileged backgrounds, in positions of influence, and in circles of power – are shielded by each other, by their families, by their communities, and by their networks while their victims are shamed and made social pariahs.
From the Gisele Pelicot gang rape case to the global “Online Rape Academy” to the Cornell 7, the human rights atrocity of violence against women and girls is insidious and systemic. Justice for Jane Doe and all other rape victims must not stop at punishing the rapists alone because that is akin to treating the flare-up of symptoms instead of the actual disease of rape culture. Justice can only be properly served once rapists face consequences AND the persons, communities, and institutions who enable them are made accountable for the role they played in any rape case.
Jane Doe’s case must not only finally provide justice that was denied to her 2 years ago but should also shine a light on and address the root cause behind her assault – the rotten system of elite male privilege that created the environment where rapists can thrive with little to no consequences.
HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD FROM HERE?
Our message to Jane Doe
We see you, we hear you, and we stand by you as you courageously battle to get the justice you deserve after Cornell University officials and local law enforcement failed you in the most unforgivable of ways.
Your attorney has reported that you are under siege online and currently “hanging on by a string”.
Please know that we – including countless women and girls and women’s organisations worldwide – will be there for you all the way. We are crying with you, raging with you, fighting alongside you. Even if most of us cannot be there in person to physically support you, we will find other ways to do so, be it joining the #IamJaneDoe campaign, campaigning to hold Cornell officials accountable, or tracking down your rapists.
It is NOT your fault. It has NEVER been your fault.
You are loved, you are supported, you are BELIEVED.
Hold on tight. The light at the end of the tunnel will come.
Our message to the Cornell 57
Your male bonding should never have been based on the collective humiliation, degradation, and abuse of women.
May every single one of you never know a day of peace and prosperity for the rest of your lives.
And may all 7 of your so-called brothers who raped Jane Doe finally have to face the consequences that they have managed to dodge so far.
Our message to all the Cornell Administrators who failed Jane Doe
APOLOGISE PUBLICLY and without caveats or reservations to Jane Doe and the victims in every one of the 1,200 cases of sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking that reached Cornell ’s Title IX office between 2018 and 2024 whom you failed again and again by refusing to deal with the perpetrators accordingly.
EXPEL any and every single one of the Cornell 57 who are still attending school at Cornell.
FIRE every single complicit staff member of your administration and the Cornell campus police who buried Jane Doe’s case in the first place.
ATTEND any court hearings that you are summoned to for the Jane Doe case.
PAY whatever compensation the court may order you to pay to Jane Doe without contesting it. And if the court does not order you to pay any compensation, PAY IT ANYWAY. It is the least you could do.
Then when you are done cleaning house and doing your long-overdue duty by Jane Doe – RESIGN.
Our message to Attorney General Letitia James and her team
We urge you and your team to not just focus on the Cornell 7 but to widen your scope to:
- The 50 other Chi Phi frat members who were on that Snapchat and who did nothing to help Jane Doe but vicariously participated in her humiliation and damage at the hands of their 7 frat brothers.
- The Cornell leadership and administrators who decided it would be much more convenient to cover up yet another rape case on campus. As of now, they have even allowed at least one of the rapists to continue his education at Cornell.
- The Cornell University police department who thought they could get away with issuing the 6-page summary with Jane Doe’s most important and damning statements omitted.
- Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten for dereliction of duty for relying on the wholly incomplete and biased 6-page summary report from the Cornell University police department and failing to do his job.
Our message to the Cornell Sun team
Thank you for investigating and bringing Jane Doe’s case to public attention even when the odds were stacked against you.
Reporting on any case involving violence against women of any kind will always bring backlash with it but you persevered and because you did, Jane Doe has a fighting chance to get justice.
May all of you always keep this courage, strength, and sense of justice in anything and everything you do for the rest of your lives.
Our message to Cornell alumni and the public-at-large
Please keep the pressure going on the Cornell 7, their Chi Phi frat brothers, Cornell University, and everyone who enabled the rape of Jane Doe and continues to defend and enable the rapists.
It is time to prove that wealth and privilege will not shield the monsters who rape and abuse women nor the people, institutions and systems that shield those monsters.
And last but not least:
For women and girls worldwide who need help for rape/sexual assault and/or domestic violence visit https://nomoredirectory.org/ to search for the nearest domestic violence shelter or rape/sexual assault helpline in your country.
For resources on learning about violence against women and what you can do about it, visit our website @ https://www.thepixelproject.net/