Johnathan Newell

Introduction

Johnathan Newell is a member of the Xi chapter of Chi Phi at Cornell University and one of seven fraternity members named in a civil complaint filed in New York state court in Manhattan on Sept. 14, 2026, alleging that a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe was drugged and gang raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, on the night of Oct. 19–20, 2024 . The filing alleges he took part in the assault and sent the Snapchat message that brought other fraternity members into the room ; coverage has spelled his first name both “Johnathan” and “Jonathan” . He has never been criminally charged: the district attorney found insufficient evidence to support charges and no arrest was made .

Background Information

The lawsuit identifies him as Johnathan Newell ‘27 . Cornell’s directory listed his college as “not applicable,” and The Cornell Daily Sun reported it could not confirm his academic status . He was named alongside six other Chi Phi members and with Cornell University, Chi Phi’s national and local organizations, Tri Delta entities, the chapter’s then-president Orazio Petito and Moonies Bar & Nightclub .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations from a civil complaint filed in New York state court on Sept. 14, 2026, reported in detail by The Cornell Daily Sun and other outlets. They have never been admitted by Newell, never been criminally charged — the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office found insufficient evidence to support charges — and never been adjudicated in court. No defendant had answered the complaint as of publication. Newell has not publicly responded to the allegations; a co-defendant, Scott Kretzschmar, has denied the claims through an attorney.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff — then 20 years old and a Cornell student — spent the evening of Oct. 19, 2024 at Cornell’s Tri-Delta house, at a Tri-Delta event hosted at Moonies Bar & Nightclub and at the Lot 10 bar, before walking alone at about 11 p.m. to the Chi Phi house at 107 Edgemoor Lane to meet her friend, defendant Matthew Ingalls .

The complaint alleges that Ingalls proposed a threesome while the plaintiff was “incapable of consenting” and took her to a room, where he and Newell pressured her to snort a white powder claimed to be ketamine — which she had never taken — and supplied marijuana and high-proof liquor . It alleges Ingalls initiated oral sex while Newell engaged in vaginal intercourse without her consent, and that Newell slapped her buttocks repeatedly, leaving bruising she noticed the next day .

Newell is alleged to have messaged the “Chi Phi Actives” Snapchat group at about 1:42 a.m. about “free pussy” upstairs; court-filed screenshots reported by the New York Post show one member replying “crazy work” and another writing that others could “walk in and whip it out” . The suit alleges Newell then “commanded” her to snort a line of ketamine off his erect penis, and that the seven named students poured and snorted lines of ketamine over her body before the assault ended at about 5:45 a.m., leaving her incapacitated until she regained consciousness later that day .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The plaintiff reported the incident to the Cornell University Police Department on Nov. 8, 2024; that same day the Xi chapter and all seven named students were placed on temporary suspension, and Cornell suspended the chapter and the students the following month . The university’s Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards investigated and adjudicated the allegations, and the Xi chapter “remains barred from our campus”; Cornell has declined to describe individual sanctions, citing federal privacy law . The plaintiff’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has said only two of the seven accused members were expelled and that others received suspensions, workshops or essays, an account Cornell declined to confirm . National coverage followed, led by a New York Post exclusive ; on Sept. 21, 2026, the Cornell Daily Sun’s editorial board named all seven student defendants individually, writing: “We know who you are and we refuse to let you benefit from this University’s concealment.”

Current Status

No criminal charges have been filed. The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office said it “conducted a thorough review of the police investigation” but found “insufficient evidence to support criminal charges,” and the plaintiff’s attorney has said none of the seven accused men was arrested . The civil case will be decided on a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, a lower burden than a criminal conviction requires . Cornell’s Title IX investigation, opened in January 2025 after the plaintiff filed a formal complaint, is believed to have concluded, while the Ithaca Police Department’s investigation is reported to remain open . Newell remains a named defendant and had made no public statement when the case became public .

Impact on Their Career/Life

Newell faces claims of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the lawsuit seeks damages from all defendants . It was filed roughly 23 months after the plaintiff’s report, a delay the Cornell Daily Sun’s editorial board described as concealment . The plaintiff has since withdrawn from Cornell . Whether the university’s proceedings produced any sanction against him is not public: Cornell has released no individual outcomes and no criminal charges exist .

Sources

*The Cornell Daily Sun, “Cornell, Chi Phi Sued by Victim of Alleged Gang Rape, Drugging in 2024,” Sept. 18, 2026 — source
*The Cornell Daily Sun, “University Releases Statement on Alleged Gang Rape at Chi Phi,” Sept. 21, 2026 — source
*The Cornell Daily Sun, “EDITORIAL | Cornell Won’t, We Will,” Sept. 21, 2026 — source
*Cornell University, “Update on the lawsuit concerning allegations of sexual assault,” Sept. 21, 2026 — source
*CBS News New York, “Cornell University and 7 Chi Phi fraternity members face lawsuit over rape allegations,” Sept. 2026 — source
*The Daily Caller, “‘Walk In And Whip It Out’: Ivy League Frat Brothers Reportedly Drug, Gang-Rape Student,” Sept. 19, 2026 — source
*Law Commentary, “Cornell Sued After Student Says 7 Fraternity Members Drugged and Gang-Raped Her, Some Faced ‘Essay’ Discipline,” Sept. 2026 — source