New York Governor appoints AG Letitia James as special prosecutor in 2024 Cornell fraternity gang rape case, citing failures by campus police and prosecutors
New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor on Thursday to lead a reopened criminal investigation into allegations that a former Cornell University student, identified as "Jane Doe," was drugged and gang raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. No criminal charges had been filed at the time because Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the original evidence presented to his office showed insufficient grounds for prosecution. James confirmed Friday that there is now "an active criminal investigation" and that her office will provide updates as they become available.
Governor Hochul used a Friday news conference alongside Attorney General James to detail what she described as sequential failures by campus law enforcement and the local district attorney's office. Hochul said she was "deeply disturbed" to learn that Cornell University police forwarded only a partial investigative record to the DA — notably omitting a transcript in which Doe told police she was "100 percent confident" she had been raped — and that the DA's office never directly interviewed Doe before declining to pursue charges in 2024. "In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang-raped while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house, and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney?" Hochul said.
The factual record that has emerged from court documents and media reporting describes the alleged assault taking place the night of October 19, 2024, at the Chi Phi fraternity house, during which Doe alleges she was plied with alcohol and ketamine and sexually assaulted by multiple men over approximately seven hours. According to a 99-page Title IX disciplinary panel summary obtained by CNN, a Snapchat message referring to "free p*ssy" was sent to a group chat that night, more than 50 interviews were conducted in the university's internal investigation, and at least one student was found to have violated Cornell's sexual exploitation and sexual assault policies. Cornell suspended the Chi Phi chapter and took disciplinary action against students.
Cornell's account of what it shared with prosecutors shifted this week. The university's online FAQ initially stated that campus police had shared "all investigatory information" with the DA's office, but the answer was later updated to say only "the victim's sworn statement and the Snapchat screenshot" were transmitted, according to CNN, which reported the change came after repeated requests for clarification. DA Van Houten stated he supports the appointment of James and that "it has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the university." James said her office would not focus on Van Houten's conduct as part of its criminal probe.