Videos recently acquired depict a female student informing campus police that fraternity brothers convened in secret to conceal an alleged “orgy.” The student stated the group wanted to keep the incident quiet because it “would be bad for our image.” These recordings were released as part of an investigation into allegations that a student was drugged and raped at a party.
The New York Post reports that the unidentified woman was among multiple students questioned by officers at the start of the investigation. She informed investigators that the Chi Phi fraternity convened a meeting “essentially to get all of the men on the same page about what happened.” The student reported that a brother at the party told her, “This was a consensual orgy … but don’t spread it because it will be bad for our image.”
Two unidentified fraternity brothers were later seen telling investigators that the sexual encounter was entirely “consensual.” One of these men denied that the meetings were specifically held to address or hide what had happened. He told police, “We didn’t have a meeting about it specifically. It was our weekly chapter meeting. We got through a bunch of stuff.”
None of the Chi Phi brothers shown in the new video release are accused of involvement in the alleged sexual assault. Nevertheless, university police got an anonymous tip suggesting fraternity leadership urged a potential witness to remain silent. According to records secured by the New York Post, the tipster asserted that the reputation of everyone involved and the frat would be destroyed if news leaked.
Text messages from some fraternity brothers appear to show an attempt to contain the fallout as news of the party spread around campus. The anonymous caller contacted authorities one day after a campus-wide alert informed students regarding a reported rape in October 2024. A fraternity president sent a message to Matthew Ingalls, inquiring when he last spoke to Jane Doe.
Ingalls replied that he spoke to her yesterday and asked about the plan of action. He suggested calling her, noting, “I don’t think she would have reported this.” The attorney for the accuser, identified only as Jane Doe, told CNN that the whole fraternity held meetings to be part of a “conspiracy of silence.” He stated that nobody walked out of those meetings to hold anyone accountable.
