Winston Lee

Introduction

Winston Lee 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 complaint alleges Lee took part in the assault and that he and defendant Matthew Ingalls later took the plaintiff into another room — believed to be the chapter president’s office — where the two forced oral and vaginal sex upon her simultaneously . 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 Winston Lee ‘27, and the Cornell Directory lists him as a current student in the College of Arts and Sciences . Temporary suspensions were issued to him, the other six student defendants and the chapter on Nov. 8, 2024, according to the complaint . The same complaint names 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 Lee, 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. Lee 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 the plaintiff was pressured by Ingalls and defendant Johnathan Newell into snorting a white powder said to be ketamine, having never taken the drug before . It alleges she was then sexually assaulted without her consent in a room at the house, and that while she lay on her back the defendants poured and snorted lines of ketamine over her body; Lee is among the seven students the filing identifies as having done so .

The filing further alleges that Ingalls and Lee took the plaintiff into another room, believed by the defendant to be the office of Orazio Petito, president of Chi Phi at Cornell at the time, where they forced oral and vaginal sex upon her simultaneously and made her snort more ketamine . The assault is alleged to have continued until approximately 5:45 a.m., leaving the plaintiff, in the complaint’s words, completely incapacitated .

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 . Lee remains a named defendant and has made no public statement about the allegations .

Impact on Their Career/Life

Lee faces claims of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the lawsuit seeks damages from all defendants . The case has fed wider criticism of Cornell’s handling of campus sexual assault: the university’s 2025 survey recorded a campuswide increase in reported misconduct, and the Daily Sun’s editorial board faulted the administration for offering “academic ‘solutions,’ like the essays” . The plaintiff has since withdrawn from Cornell . Any consequence for him beyond the pending civil claim remains undisclosed .

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