NSU president says Cornell gang-rape lawsuit may involve a student who transferred to the Davie campus

Nova Southeastern University President Harry Moon said Sunday that the civil lawsuit accusing seven Cornell University fraternity members of gang-raping a 20-year-old woman may involve a student who later transferred to NSU's Davie campus.

The statement did not name the student or say whether he remains enrolled. Moon said the university did not know about the allegations at the time of admission and acted after learning of them.

"At the time of admission, the university was not aware of allegations subsequently reported in media," Moon said in the statement. "Once we learned of the reported incident, we acted immediately on behalf of the safety and well-being of our students and the NSU community."

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 16 in New York County Court by a woman identified as Jane Doe, names Johnathan Newell, 21, among the seven Chi Phi fraternity members accused of assaulting her at the Cornell fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024. Newell is one of two students expelled by Cornell, according to reporting by the Cornell student newspaper.

Doe alleges that Newell pressured her to take ketamine, slapped her during the assault and posted the message "free pussy" to invite other fraternity members to join.

Moon said federal privacy laws restrict what the university can disclose about an individual student.

"Because this matter involves federal law regarding an individual student, the university is legally restricted by federal regulations that limit what the university can share," the statement said.

The lawsuit says the woman was under 21 at the time and had been drinking at bars and the Tri Delta sorority house before going to the Chi Phi house. She alleges Newell and Matthew Ingalls led her to a room and began sexual acts without her consent.

NSU's Davie campus is in Broward County, where Newell appears to have graduated from NSU University School in 2023. An Instagram account for that graduating class showed he was accepted to Cornell to study biological sciences.

After Moon's statement, comments began appearing on NSU's Instagram posts demanding answers about Newell's enrollment. At least 100 comments were left on one post over the weekend, and by Monday afternoon the university had turned off comments on recent posts.

Pashen Black, NSU's director of public relations and marketing communications, said in an email that the university's priority is campus safety.

"While I'm limited in what I can share about this matter, what I can tell you is that the safety and well-being of our NSU community is a top priority," Black wrote. "We were not aware of the allegations at the time the student was admitted to NSU and acted immediately once we were informed."

No criminal cases have been filed against Newell in Broward County or Palm Beach County courts. Information on the attorney representing Newell in the civil lawsuit was not available in court records.