A woman who alleged she was gang raped by seven Cornell University fraternity members in 2024 initially described her feelings of embarrassment about the encounter before later concluding she was assaulted, according to records obtained by The New York Times. The publication analyzed more than 1,000 pages of the university's private Title IX investigation, which provides a detailed timeline of the accuser's shifting perceptions and the evidence collected. While the accuser told police with "100% confidence" that she was raped, an attorney for defendant Gillio Lopes recently told Megyn Kelly that his client's sexual encounter with the woman was consensual.

The Tompkins County District Attorney has reopened the criminal investigation following a civil lawsuit filed in September 2026 against the accused men, the Chi Phi fraternity, and the university. The case has triggered calls from Senator Chuck Schumer and House Democratic women for a full review of the proceedings and stronger Title IX protections under the Trump Administration. Separately, the outlet UnHerd reported that a university hearing officer was allegedly driving and surfing the web during one of the internal disciplinary trials, leading to accusations of a one-sided adjudication process.