Phone call and records suggest some Cornell students tried to contain rape allegations

The woman who alleges she was drugged and raped by multiple members of a Cornell University fraternity in October 2024 told one of the accused men in a recorded phone call weeks later that she was "10 shots deep" when she arrived at the Chi Phi house and was now struggling to remember what had caused "so much damage on my body and brain."

"The only way for me to heal is to know what happened," the woman, identified as "Jane Doe" in a civil lawsuit, said during a Nov. 7, 2024, call, according to audio obtained by ABC News. "That's why I'm trying to just piece it together, you know, like I'm just like confused." 

During the call, the Chi Phi fraternity member told her that she consented to having a threesome with him and another fraternity brother. 

He also insisted that Jane Doe had told him she had not been drinking when she showed up.

"You did tell me you were sober, by the way," he said. "You said you hadn't been anywhere."

"That is not true. I never would have said that," she replied.

Matt Rourke/AP

At one point during the call, Jane Doe told him, "If I wanted to take this somewhere, what y'all did would be classified as gang rape." 

The fraternity member then suggested that their memories of what transpired may not be accurate.

"I have racked my brain for this mystery," he said. "You know, it's possible that both of us, like, remember this, and it's not true."

Jane Doe pushed back: "No, because I remember looking up and being like, 'That is too many people.'"

Other text messages published by ABC News suggested that some of the accused fraternity members attempted to contain the allegations in the weeks following the incident.

"What's the plan of action? Should I call [Jane Doe]? I don't think she would have reported this," the fraternity member in the recorded call wrote in a small group chat.

Read more from Yahoo: A timeline of the Cornell University rape case

Jane Doe, who was 20 at the time of the alleged 2024 rape, reported the incident to Cornell University police on Nov. 8, 2024.

She filed a civil lawsuit on Sept. 16 against the school, seven current and former Chi Phi fraternity members, the Tri-Delta Alpha Beta sorority where she lived, and a local bar where she said she was served drinks on the night of the incident.

Lawyers for two of the men identified in Jane Doe's civil suit have denied they participated in a sexual assault, according to the Associated Press.

Lauren Petracca/Reuters

Cornell University has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the case.

In an eight-minute video statement released on Saturday, Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said the university "must do better."

"What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come. My heart aches when I think of what she experienced," Kotlikoff said. "It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use. It also raises questions around the investigations conducted after the allegations were reported."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Friday that the woman was "failed" by those obligated to protect her, including university police and a prosecutor who initially declined to bring charges.

Hochul said that she had lost faith in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten and appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the criminal investigation.

"This young woman had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable," the governor said. "And then at every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her."

Meanwhile, Jane Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said that his client has received "multiple threats" in recent days.

"There are people out there trying to track her down," Giuffra said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "They said we're gonna shut you up. You're gonna still get hurt by us. You're gonna pull this lawsuit out or we're gonna do something to hurt you even more."