expelled student kicked out again over sex message

Jonathan Newell is getting another hard kick in the teeth. The 21-year-old student who sent a Snapchat message asking for free sex has been kicked out of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This happened just after he tried to start over at a new school following his expulsion from Cornell.

The Daily Mail can confirm this move exclusively. Newell was one of two fraternity brothers thrown off campus by Cornell administrators back then. The trouble started with an alleged incident inside their Chi Phi house where seven men are accused of drugging and gang raping a female student in 2024.

Newell enrolled at Nova Southeastern earlier this year hoping to forget the whole mess. He wanted to resume his studies and leave that sordid episode behind him forever. That plan crashed down hard after a civil lawsuit filed by a Jane Doe last month dragged these explosive allegations into the national spotlight.

The legal complaint accuses Newell of being one of the first men to sexually assault the woman at the fraternity house on the night of October 19, 2024. The document also claims he wrote that repugnant message shared in the Snapchat group which advertised free sex among alumni parents.

Newell has never faced criminal charges for this stuff. Yet, last week a flood of complaints from worried parents forced officials to order him to stay away from NSU property. President Harry Moon issued a carefully worded statement Monday morning saying they took steps to safeguard students.

Moon wrote that everyone is concerned about reports of serious abuse allegations happening roughly two years ago at another university. He noted these cases may involve a student who later transferred to Nova Southeastern. The school takes such claims very seriously and puts the safety of every campus member as a top priority.

The president did not mention Newell by name in that release. Nor did he say if these undisclosed safeguarding measures were meant to be temporary or permanent. He told students, staff, and faculty that the prestigious private university was unaware of the Jane Doe allegations when this newcomer first enrolled.

The shocking lawsuit claims she was given ketamine before having nonconsensual group sex with Newell and six others at a Chi Phi frat house in Ithaca, New York. Once officials learned about the reported incident they acted immediately to protect students and the community.

Because this matter touches on federal law regarding an individual student, the university faces legal restrictions limiting what it can share publicly. They continue to monitor the situation closely and will remain vigilant. As a result of their actions so far there is no known current threat to the campus community regarding this specific matter.

The statement brought relief among parents of female students who had been worried about safety on campus. It was obviously concerning for families who just wanted their daughters safe from harm.

It is a horrific crime that this young man is accused of," said one mother who spoke to the Daily Mail on condition of anonymity. The accusation centers on Newell, who allegedly sent an infamous Snapchat message into a group chat containing more than 50 fraternity brothers. That text read "Free p****" and appeared in Jane Doe's civil complaint.

The timeline grows darker when you look at the screenshots filed in that same lawsuit. One man involved in the Snapchat group asked if the shop was still open shortly after a photograph of Jane Doe was shared within the messages. This exchange happened while she was 20 years old, and Newell is charged with being among the first men to sexually assault her on October 19, 2024.

The civil complaint details how Newell and fellow Chi Phi member Matthew Ingalls pressured Doe to consume ketamine, marijuana, and what they believed to be high-proof Jamaican liquor before allegedly engaging in sexual acts without her consent. At one point, the suit claims Newell ordered Doe to snort a line of ketamine off his genitals. He is also accused of slapping her repeatedly during intercourse, leaving bruises on her buttocks, and continuing to grope her even after she pushed his hand away. The message inviting others upstairs served as an invitation for sexual assault that allegedly continued for hours.

Newell grew up in South Florida, attended NSU University School, a private prep school on the NSU campus with tuition around $40,000 a year, and later enrolled at Cornell after graduating in 2023. His mother is a respected pediatrics doctor and assistant professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. His father works as a chief estimator for a construction firm. The family lives in a $2.5 million home inside an exclusive gated community there, driving swish BMW cars.

Former classmates describe him differently than you might expect from the scandal unfolding now. They said he was quiet and bookish growing up. He played varsity lacrosse and picked up multiple awards before leaving high school. "Jonathan was good at his studies," one former friend told reporters. "I would assume he was on the honor roll." That same source added, "He was just this quiet kid. No drugs, no girls, no scandal of any sort."

Cornell's Chi Phi chapter was shut down in 2024 following these allegations and remains barred from campus. The shock among old friends is palpable when you hear he held the title of social chair at Cornell yet never seemed outgoing. "I remember being in shock when I heard he was the social chair of his fraternity at Cornell because he wasn't outgoing at all," one acquaintance admitted. "Now I'm like, what did college do to him? What did fraternity life do to him?"

The pain extends beyond the accused boy into the hearts of parents everywhere. As one mother put it, "You trust that they're in a safe environment when you send them off to school and that they can navigate the things that you've prepared them for. But you can't prepare your kids for this." The reality is simple: privilege does not protect children from predators or bad choices.

Newell stands without any criminal charges against him and has kept quiet on the serious accusations leveled at him. Yet, a formal Title IX probe by Cornell University, which involved interviewing more than fifty people, led to his expulsion from that prestigious school, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten chose not to press criminal charges following his own 2024 investigation.

The account given by Doe during the initial inquiry reportedly differed greatly from what she claimed in a civil lawsuit filed nearly two years later. According to Van Houten, her original statement described drug use and sexual activity as completely voluntary and consensual. "If what was said on social media about this case was true, those fraternity members would be in prison right now," he told ABC News.

Doe's lawyer, Thomas P Giuffra, pushed back hard against the district attorney's version of events. He argued that his client never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her first complaint and that the investigation lacked depth. "I believe that opportunities to fully investigate these crimes were lost," Giuffra stated. "We will never fully know what occurred or the identities of everyone who was involved that night."

Governor Kathy Hochul stepped in last Thursday, appointing New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to launch a fresh criminal look into the matter. The alleged incident happened back in 2024, but the Tompkins County district attorney ultimately decided against prosecution.

James faced some questions recently regarding a Facebook post from September 28. In that message, she seemed to judge the allegations before they were fully explored, writing, "What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable." When reporters asked about it at a news conference, the longtime Trump opponent simply said she would not comment on her social media post.

The defendants have always denied doing anything wrong. None of them face criminal charges yet. It remains unclear if Newell has hired legal counsel. Neither he nor his father answered calls or messages from the Daily Mail looking for comments. Cornell confirmed that the Chi Phi chapter was shut down in 2024 and is still banned from campus.