Jane Doe said Cornell frat group sex story would be 'funny in a couple of months,' lawyer call it 'textbook response to sexual assault'

Text messages sent in the days following what became an alleged gang rape at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity reveal that the complainant, Jane Doe, said the group sex incident at a September frat party would be “funny in a couple of months.” The messages were sent between Jane Doe and a man she named in her civil lawsuit.

The messages, obtained by CBS News, took place between October 21 and 24 before picking back up again on October 31, 2024. The chain begins with previously reported messages between Doe and a man previously identified as Jonathan Newell. He was seen apologizing for “how things went down the other night.” Doe said in part, “i don't think we should feel any shame for the part. our body our choice asf.”

The messages obtained by CBS show that Doe’s message had continued, “p.s. i'm not sure if u remember but i did ket off your d*ck at some point ? and i honestly think that was one of the most insane/jaw dropping moments of the night.”

The text chain continued the following day, with Newell saying he was “kinda upset” with “all the stories going around earlier,” adding that he had “no memory of that last part,” accompanied with a crying emoji.

Doe said “I don’t even think i wanna know” about the stories, writing, “i know im socially a massive slut rn and i like can't bare to hear it cause im really not.”

Newell said he hadn’t heard Doe’s name in any of the stories “yet,” adding that someone had thought a person overdosed in the room.

Doe replied, “i heard that one too but it was the night before??... honestly it was such a good time for it to happen cause i heard everyone went feral that friday and saturday.”

Newell replied, “But pretty good timing, just makes everything less believable.”

Doe wrote, “it'll be funny in a couple months.” She added in another message that she and Newell “should smoke again sometime but like leave out the extra 5 billion men and ketamine.” She mentioned losing earrings in the room.

The two exchanged a few messages on October 24, before the chat went cold for a week. Doe messaged again on October 31, 2024, asking if he had found her earrings. He said he had not but would look again and asked for a photo.

Thomas Giuffra, Jane Doe’s lawyer, told CBS News her text messages in the days after the incident reflected “classic symptoms of delayed recognition,” saying it was “a textbook response to sexual assault."