Police Log Shows Drug Arrest at Cornell Fraternity Hours Before Alleged Assault

The Cornell Daily Sun reported Saturday that campus police responded to the Chi Phi fraternity house shortly after 1 a.m. on October 19, 2024, made a drug-related arrest and referred a person to the Office of Student Conduct, NBC News reported. The log entry came nearly 22 hours before an alleged sexual assault, but it does not establish a connection between the two.

The archived police log, cited by the Sun and reviewed by NBC News, does not name the person arrested or say what drugs were involved. Fox News reported the blotter says a student was arrested on drug charges but lists no specific charges. Cornell University had no comment, and its police department did not immediately respond to NBC's request for comment.

A former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe sued the university and seven Chi Phi brothers last month, NBC reported. She alleges she was sexually assaulted over several hours that night while under the influence of ketamine, alcohol and marijuana. In a police interview after the alleged assault, documented in records NBC obtained, a woman told investigators she had seen a fraternity member with a bag of ketamine about two months earlier. She also said he had previously overdosed and been taken for treatment, but the interview does not establish when that happened or whether she witnessed it, NBC reported. The fraternity was suspended on November 8, 2024, the same day Doe reported her allegations to campus police, according to her civil complaint as described by Fox.

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said in a video message Saturday afternoon that the allegations are deeply disturbing and raised questions about the investigation that followed, NBC reported. Fox News reported he announced that an outside law firm will investigate the school's response. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he based his decision not to bring charges on Jane Doe's initial six-page statement to police, which he argued did not allege criminality, according to NBC. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has said authorities failed to conduct a thorough investigation.

Fox News reported that Day Hall on Cornell's campus was vandalized with graffiti early Monday amid fallout over the school's response to the 2024 case. Police officers responded to the building Monday, according to photos from The Cornell Daily Sun published by Fox.