Texts reveal Cornell defendant hoped assault would become a joke to laugh about
A new York Times report shows a defendant told Jane Doe he expected them to privately joke about the incident after the Chi Phi party.
By Adrian Kovalenko ·
Diego Sarabia, a defendant in a lawsuit alleging a drug-fueled sexual assault at Cornell University, told Jane Doe he hoped they could eventually laugh about the incident. A report from The New York Times reveals that Sarabia, a resident of Bethel, exchanged dozens of text messages with Doe in the weeks following the Oct. 19, 2024, party at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
Doe, who was a sophomore at the time, filed a lawsuit in September accusing several fraternity members of participating in the assault. The complaint alleges Sarabia kissed Doe without consent and snorted ketamine off her body, though it does not charge him with rape. In the messages obtained by The Times, Sarabia apologized for his role in the events and suggested the incident could become a shared memory to joke about in private.
Cornell’s Title IX investigators collected these texts during their inquiry into the allegations. Following the investigation, the university imposed sanctions on the fraternity members, ranging from expulsion to mandatory essays. Cornell banned Sarabia from its upstate New York campus for three years. Doe subsequently dropped out of the university.
The text chain began two days after the party when Sarabia apologized for "some mean things" he might have said. He wrote, "I want to make amends with you because I’m not a mean person I pride myself on being kind and am rlly sorry for that and what’s going on." Doe responded by attributing his behavior to an "insane night" of partying and stated she looked forward to seeing him around campus.
Doe wrote, "While we’re all obviously denying what happened to anyone who asks, i hope that we can joke about all this (in private obv) later down the line." Sarabia agreed, stating, "With due time it can be something to laugh about privately." In her final message in the exchange, Doe told Sarabia they should not feel ashamed, claiming they shared a "soul bond" due to the rare experience.
A criminal investigation into the allegations was reopened after Doe filed her lawsuit in New York Supreme Court. All men named in the suit have denied wrongdoing, and none has been charged with a crime. Sarabia’s attorneys are currently seeking to dismiss the claims against him. They argue the suit was filed too late under New York’s one-year statute of limitations. They also contend the complaint fails to accuse Sarabia of supplying drugs or alcohol or being present for most of the alleged conduct.
Sarabia’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The text messages are part of the official record from Cornell's internal investigation.
