Newly surfaced text messages show the Cornell student who has accused seven fraternity brothers of gang rape was in direct contact with one of the accused men in the days after the alleged assault, discussing who might be spreading word of the incident around campus.
The messages, obtained by TMZ, show the woman, identified as Jane Doe in her lawsuit, texting fraternity brother Matthew Ingalls just four days after the Chi Phi fraternity party where she now says she was drugged and raped. In the messages, she tells Ingalls that “everybody knows” about them having had sex, and says the situation has left her “incredibly stressed out.”
Ingalls, who has since said he was himself assaulted while too drunk to consent, responded sympathetically. “Dude I have no f—king idea, this sh-t is incredibly frustrating and I know how fast nonsense spreads at this school,” he wrote, adding that the gossip was “fan behavior from everyone talking about it. Boring people who have nothing to do with their time.”
Doe told Ingalls the rumors were “f—king RUINING my life,” and that her reputation was “destroyed.” She said she believed she knew “some of the rats in the room” who had been talking.
Ingalls replied, “Stupid bitches like to yap, and the fact they’re doing it shows that they’re jealous of you for any number of reasons,” adding that “the only shameful thing is how this spread and how much people won’t shut up about it.”
Doe agreed with that assessment, writing that people gossiping were “jealous” and that she would confront anyone who gave her trouble over what happened. She also wrote that “everyone needs to grow up cause sexuality and sex and sh-t is changing and stuff like this is going to become more common,” adding that she considers herself “open minded.”
Suspicion Turns to Another Accused Brother
Later in the exchange, Doe suspected another fraternity brother she has since accused of taking part in the assault, Jonathan Newell, of talking about what happened. “Jonathan def told people. I heard something today and i know he told people,” she wrote to Ingalls.
Ingalls denied that Newell had said anything, suggesting instead that an upperclassman may have spread the information. Doe said a female student who had confronted her about the rumors would not reveal who had told her.
Ingalls told Doe that “these idiots will move on and it’ll be done with.”
Rumors Escalate, Then a Report to Police
More than a week later, on November 7, Ingalls told Doe that his ex-girlfriend said he was now being described on campus as a sexual abuser, and asked whether Doe had made those allegations against him. Doe said she had not spoken out, but wrote that “people are changing the narrative because like in any sexual scenario w one woman and many men the woman was probably victim,” adding, “I know there are rumors I was gang banged.”
That same day, according to her lawsuit, Doe went to an emergency room and requested a rape kit. She reported the alleged assault to Cornell University’s campus police the following day.
Ingalls and Newell are among the seven Chi Phi fraternity members named in Doe’s lawsuit who were ultimately expelled from Cornell, the Ivy League university based in Ithaca, in Tompkins County. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the allegations.
