Gov. Kathy Hochul has directed New York Attorney General Letitia James to take over the criminal investigation into accusations that a former Cornell University student was gang raped by several frat brothers at the Ivy League school in 2024.
Hochul appointed James special prosecutor of the case after she said she lost faith in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s investigation into the stomach-turning allegations when new reporting revealed discrepancies in what the DA said the survivor originally reported.
“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” the governor said in a statement Thursday evening.
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“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time.
“For this reason, I have issued an executive order appointing Attorney General James as special prosecutor in this case. As special prosecutor, the Attorney General will investigate this incident and, if warranted, prosecute any offenses arising from that investigation and present evidence to a grand jury,” Hochul said.
James announced earlier in the day that her office was launching its own civil review of the sexual assault accusations which were brought to light when the victim, Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit last month against seven frat brothers and the university, alleging she was gang raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” Hochul added. “This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands.”
James’ appointment as special prosecutor allows her office to investigate the matter criminally — superseding the Tompkins County DA, who announced Sunday that his office would reopen its probe into the allegations.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly. The Governor has entrusted my office with this investigation, and we do not take that responsibility lightly,” James said in a statement Thursday night.
“As our state’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer, I stand ready to lead a process New Yorkers can trust, guided by the facts and the law.”
Van Houten said he decided against prosecuting the case in 2024 because Doe’s sworn statement to Cornell University police, while disturbing, did not accuse the male students of rape.
However, a transcript of Doe’s conversation with Cornell cops revealed Wednesday that she had told university cops: “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
Doe was interviewed by campus police over two days in November 2024 and described how a night of partying led to her becoming “completely and totally incapacitated” before she was allegedly sexually assaulted by seven men, the transcript obtained by CBS News said.
During the two-day interview, Doe, who was 20 at the time, admitted a night of drinking and drugs that led to a threesome at Chi Phi began consensually but soon turned into a revolving door of frat bros allegedly coming and going to take turns having sex with her, the report said.
“And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time,” Doe told police, according to the transcript. “Physically hit very, very hard.”
One of the men texted in a Snapchat group chat with over 50 members of Chi Phi that there was “free p–sy” in a room at the frat house, appearing to invite the others to join in, according to a screenshot of the exchange. His pals leered responses like “shop still open?” and “you can walk in and whip it out.”
Doe recalled several men snorting ketamine off her naked body and pushing one groping hand away from her at one point, while telling the fraternity brothers at other moments she was too tired or uncomfortable to keep having sex.
Police asked Doe if it was “no” or “eh, I’m tired,” to which she replied, “I think it’s, ‘I’m tired.’”
Cops then asked whether she became so exhausted from fending off the brothers that she allowed them to have sex with her, to which she responded, “Yes, it was coercion.”