Scott Kretzschmar's Lawyer Denies 'Cornell 7' Defendant Was Involved in Alleged Assault: 'He Never Touched Her'

Scott Kretzschmar is one of seven former Chi Phi fraternity members being sued by a former student identified in court papers as Jane Doe, who accuses them of g----r------- her at the fraternity’s house at Cornell University in 2024. The men have been dubbed the “Cornell 7” online.

Kretzschmar’s attorney, former Manhattan assistant district attorney Jeremy Saland, told Chris Cuomo on NewsNation’s Cuomo that Kretzschmar denies ever touching Doe or engaging in any sexual activity with her.

Saland said Kretzschmar went upstairs to the frat house to find a friend, saw nothing unusual when he got there and then left.

“She was not undressed,” Saland said. “He didn’t see her under duress.”

Saland said Kretzschmar had already left before the alleged assault, after spending only a few minutes in the room, where he checked if she was okay, TMZ reported. Doe filed her civil suit against Kretzschmar and others on Wednesday, September 16.

At 1:42 a.m., a fraternity member allegedly posted in the fraternity’s Snapchat group that there was “free p----” as a way of getting other fraternity members to go upstairs, according to the lawsuit. Saland told Cuomo that Kretzschmar had no part in writing that message but, to his recollection, responded in the Snapchat thread afterward.

“While Scott responded to and made an immature comment on Snapchat, he did nothing else. Nothing,” Saland told TMZ.

Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has said, “Multiple frat members knew about it. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The complaint alleges that each of the seven men committed acts of sexual assault and r---, but the specific act it attributes to Kretzschmar is snorting ketamine off the woman’s body.

“Absolutely not … what you need to do is look at the demonstrable, objective evidence, which is a hair follicle test showing no, he had no ketamine in his system,” said Saland.

Saland told TMZ that Doe and her attorneys knew the test result before filing what he called a “fraudulent action.” He urged the public to avoid judgments like those made during the Duke lacrosse case, telling people to “cast aside the pitchforks of prejudgment.”

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced on Monday, September 28, that his office would present the case to a grand jury, saying the lawsuit gives a “dramatically different” account from what Doe initially told police.

Van Houten said Doe’s original statement “described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.” No criminal charges were filed in 2024, and none of the seven fraternity members have been criminally charged.

Saland said Kretzschmar welcomes the new investigation, and he predicted it will end the same way the first one did, without criminal charges against his client.

Kretzschmar is a 2022 graduate of Marine City High School in Michigan and is listed along with six other men in Doe’s lawsuit, which also names Cornell University, the fraternity and a sorority, among others.