A New York prosecutor has reopened an investigation into gang rape allegations at a Cornell University fraternity. This comes in response to a viral lawsuit filed by a woman who says seven students bombarded her with drugs and alcohol and then sexually assaulted her in 2024.
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Details About Open Investigation Into Alleged Cornell University Rape
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday (Sept. 28) that his office will present evidence to a grand jury. He faces public questions about why there were no criminal prosecutions in the case.
The female victim is identified only by a pseudonym in the lawsuit. She filed the complaint on Sept. 16. She said she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Cornell’s campus in October 2024. The assault, the lawsuit says, occurred after being pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana, and drinking alcohol. She’s suing seven men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, an Ithaca bar and others, seeking undisclosed damages.
The woman went to campus police at the time, but Van Houten said the accuser did not make any claims of being gang raped or drugged in her initial sworn statement to authorities. The prosecutor also said he has never been contacted by the woman’s attorney about her statement or about reconsidering the decision not to prosecute.
“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,” Van Houten said in a statement.
University Responds To New Probe Into Incident
Cornell said in a statement that it supports the district attorney’s decision to reopen the investigation. The school said it conducted its own investigation and issued sanctions, including expelling some students and suspending others. It also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
School officials on Monday did not immediately respond to a message seeking more information, including how many students were expelled and suspended.
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
The national chapter of Chi Phi did not immediately return phone and email messages Monday.
The school said it conducted an internal disciplinary investigation in 2024. It said a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days, and both the woman and the people accused had the opportunity to testify and present evidence.
The woman’s attorney did not immediately respond Monday to messages seeking comment on the prosecutor’s decision to reopen the investigation.
The lawsuit contains allegations about what started as a night of celebrating at a sorority and a local bar. It also accuses the university of not preventing the alleged assaults and includes a photo that it says shows a group chat between frat members discussing sex with the woman.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Van Houten said, his office has been flooded with phone calls, voicemails and emails about the case from people seeking answers and others making insults and threats.
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Associated Press writers Dave Collins and John Seewer contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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