Prosecutors in New York are pursuing criminal charges against seven men after uncovering fraternity group chat evidence in a sexual assault investigation at Cornell University. The messages, which include references to the victim as "free" and the question "Shop still open?", emerged as the District Attorney’s Office revealed the probe had previously stalled because the victim's initial statement to police lacked an explicit allegation of non-consent. The victim's legal counsel has since disputed this, stating that the original police reports and the current civil lawsuit are substantially similar.

The criminal investigation was revived following a civil lawsuit filed by a former student who alleges she was drugged with ketamine and assaulted for seven hours by members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024. Cornell previously expelled two students and required others to write remorse essays, sanctions that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has cited as evidence of a protected culture of assault at elite universities. The renewed legal focus has already resulted in Wells Fargo firing an employee, Diego Sarabia, who is among the seven accused.