A former Cornell student has lost his job after allegations of a brutal gang rape came back to light. Diego Sarabia, an alleged member of the 'Cornell 7', was accused of pressuring a student named Jane Doe to snort ketamine and drink before allowing other fraternity members to rape her.
TMZ is reporting that Sarabia lost his job at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he had been working. His termination is directly connected to the reopening of the criminal inquiry into the 2024 crime.
Allegations and Civil Lawsuit
Jane Doe's lawsuit mentioned Sarabia as a member of the Chi Phi fraternity, where she was allegedly gang raped. The student, who was 20 years old at the time, is said to have been drugged, attacked and raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024, according to a civil lawsuit.
After widespread outcry, New York prosecutors said they would reopen the criminal inquiry into her alleged rape. She recently filed a civil lawsuit on September 16, detailing her alleged attack.
University Response and Investigation
Cornell has said 'any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false'. The alleged assault happened in October inside the fraternity house in Ithaca, New York, after the woman is said to have been pressured into snorting a drug believed to have been ketamine.
Before her alleged hours-long assault, one male student is said to have sent a message to the fraternity Snapchat group saying there was 'free p****' and invited others to join, documents seen by The Independent detail. Several men are said to have arrived before the woman was allegedly subjected to violent abuse and sexual assault across various rooms before she lost consciousness.
Prosecutor's Comments and Status
The county district attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office will look into the case again, although the woman's allegations in the civil complaint are 'dramatically different' to her statement to the campus police two years ago. No criminal charges were brought against the seven men in 2024 because the student's initial police statement did not claim she was drugged and that the sexual activities were not consensual, Van Houten said.
Chi Phi chapter remains banned from Cornell's campus following the alleged incident.
