Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., painted a far more sweeping picture of a Cornell University sexual assault case than what's alleged in the underlying civil complaint, while also making claims the university disputes. Speaking during a town hall hosted by More Perfect University on Sunday in Ithaca, New York, Ocasio-Cortez addressed allegations outlined in a civil complaint filed last month by a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe, who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in October 2024. "Seven men drugged and gang raped a 20-year-old woman," Ocasio-Cortez said.
"They lured her in to a fraternity house," she continued. "They drugged her with ketamine. They then posted to a group chat that she was incapacitated, and seven men took turns gang raping her for seven hours." CONVICTED RAPIST WHO PREYED ON WOMEN AT AMERICA'S TOP PARTY SCHOOL FACES RECKONING AFTER COURTHOUSE DASH "Their fraternity knew.
This was reported to Cornell University. And after looking into this matter, they expelled two of them and made the rest write essays as their form of punishment," Ocasio-Cortez said. "I want to be clear that the culture of rape, sexual assault, and pedophilia is protected in elite institutions across the United States and including Cornell University in this instance.
It has got to stop." Cornell has disputed Ocasio-Cortez's characterization of the disciplinary action, saying expulsions and suspensions were issued and that no respondent was required to write an essay as the sole consequence. The civil complaint alleges that several students who received temporary suspensions were given an opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to the university. Ocasio-Cortez's comments come as a civil lawsuit filed by Doe contains graphic allegations about what happened inside the Chi Phi fraternity house nearly two years ago.
YALE STUDENT CHARGED AFTER ALLEGED SEX ASSAULT ON PACKED MANHATTAN SUBWAY TRAIN, ATTORNEY PUSHES BACK The 101-page civil complaint names Cornell, fraternity-related entities, seven individual defendants and other defendants. It alleges that Doe was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members after being plied with alcohol and drugs. According to the complaint, Doe arrived at the fraternity house intoxicated, was pressured into taking ketamine and was subjected to sexual acts without her consent.
It further alleges that one fraternity member posted a sexually explicit message about her in a fraternity Snapchat group. The incident ended at around 5:45 a.m., according to the complaint. EX-MAYOR FOUND LIABLE FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULTS OF 7 WOMEN, ORDERED TO PAY $13M Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office reviewed Doe's sworn statement in November 2024 and initially determined that the facts contained in that statement did not support criminal charges under New York law.
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