As public outcry surges over allegations of a 2024 sexual assault at the Ivy League college, two members of the Chi Phi fraternity vehemently deny the accusations

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Two of the Cornell University fraternity members who are accused of gang raping a fellow student in 2024 are vehemently denying the allegations.

On Sept. 16, a former student identified as Jane Doe filed a civil complaint against Cornell University and seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity alleging that she was drugged and sexually assaulted at the fraternity for seven hours.

The woman, then 20, reported the incident to campus police three weeks later, according to the complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE.

No arrests were made.

The lawsuit alleges some of the men “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays.”

Cornell denies the claims, saying in a Sept. 28 statement that it had conducted a Title IX investigation, which is separate from a criminal proceeding, that resulted in a range of sanctions for the accused students, including temporary suspensions and expulsions.

“After investigation, and pursuant to federal law, the matter was sent to a hearing where a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days,” Cornell said in the statement.

The woman and those she accused had the opportunity to testify and present evidence, the university said. “None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” it added.

The woman ended up dropping out of Cornell as a result of the trauma she suffered from the alleged gang rape, according to the lawsuit.

As news of the alleged gang rape spread on social media, public outcry mounted, with many criticizing the school and the fraternity for what they view as lenient punishments.

Now, two of the fraternity members are speaking out through their attorneys, denying the allegations.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Jeremy Saland, an attorney for Scott Kretzschmar, one of the defendants named in the lawsuit, said, “My client welcomes the opportunity to address these charges, these allegations, and is confident that the matter will be resolved the same way.”

The woman, Saland continued, “accuses my client of snorting ketamine off of her body, but we had medical or scientific confirmation by way of a hair follicle test, which confirms he had no ketamine in his system.

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“What’s gravely disappointing is not only do we have that proof, they had it before she filed,” he continued. “They meaning the plaintiff and her attorney. So despite her egregious claims, we had corroboration by way of a scientific medical test, a hair follicle test, that he had no ketamine in his system. The reason why is because he never snorted ketamine, never has snorted ketamine, and the allegations against him are false.”

Asked when the test was conducted, since the woman filed her lawsuit weeks after the alleged assaults, Saland replied, “The hair follicle test detection was well within the time frame, or the detection was well within the time frame of when the hair follicle test was administered.”

In an interview with ABC News, Saland said the incident as detailed in the complaint “did not happen.”

“At bottom, Scott never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way. Period,” Saland told ABC News. “We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.”

Another defendant, Scott Norris, is also speaking out through an attorney, saying he did not engage in any sexual activity or drug use, per ABC News. He did, however, allegedly admit to sending a message on Snapchat that was included in the complaint.

“I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use,” Norris said through an attorney, ABC News reports. “I was not found responsible by Cornell for any of the accusations involving sexual activity and drug use for which others received serious consequences. I thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat and briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it happened.”

On Monday, Sept. 28, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a statement that his office had reopened the criminal investigation after no charges were originally filed.

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Van Houten said, “While I generally refrain from commenting publicly on criminal investigations, the community outrage stemming from the incomplete news and social media coverage requires that I provide an answer to why the investigation resulted in a lack of criminal charges.”

In his statement, Van Houten explained why charges were not filed at the time, saying that the woman’s statement to investigators in 2024 differed from what she alleged in the civil complaint.

Van Houten clarified that his office does not typically investigate cases alongside police.

“While the District Attorney’s Office is often called upon to provide investigation support to police agencies, we do not conduct parallel independent investigations of cases alongside police investigations,” he said. “The police investigate crimes. The District Attorney’s Office prosecutes crimes.”

The woman’s civil complaint alleges that she was given drugs by two fraternity members.

One of the members then allegedly sent a message to a Snapchat group chat called “Chi Phi Actives,” saying there was “free p—-” upstairs, according to the complaint.

The alleged rape continued until around 5:45 a.m., the woman claimed in the complaint.