Cornell 7 defense demands prosecutor recusal as new details emerge

A lawyer for one of the seven men accused in an alleged gang rape at Cornell University has called for New York Attorney General Letitia James to withdraw as special prosecutor on the case. The BBC reported that the lawyer questioned the integrity and independence of the investigation following a social media post made by James on September 28, 2026. [3]

New York Post reported that Chi Phi fraternity brother Matthew Ingalls sent an email to campus officials claiming the accuser assaulted him and accused the university of gender discrimination. According to New York Post, internal documents show the fraternity attempted to frame the alleged sexual assault as a consensual encounter out of concern for its reputation. [1]

In other developments, Daily Mail reported that campus police drafted requests for phone records roughly one week after the allegations were reported. Daily Mail also reported that one accused student is believed to have relocated to Dubai. [2][5]

A civil lawsuit filed on September 16, 2026, alleges that the gang rape occurred in 2024 at the Chi Phi fraternity house, as FTMQ News reported earlier. Cornell University, founded in 1865, is a private Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York. [11][12]