The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James is set to review Cornell University’s handling of sexual assault allegations made by a student against seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity house, according to media reports.
The student filed a civil lawsuit against the seven men in September, accusing them of participating in an assault while she was unable to consent, and highlighting the university’s response to the case.
The case was reopened after local community members asked the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office to revisit the decision on whether to pursue criminal charges against the fraternity members, the office announced.
County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated that the student, identified as “Jane Doe” to protect her identity, did not share certain key allegations with Cornell police in 2024, which initially prevented criminal charges from being filed.
On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference regarding the case alongside James, whom Hochul appointed as special prosecutor on Thursday, The Washington Post reported.
“This young woman had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable,” said Hochul. “And then, at every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.”
Van Houten supports Hochul’s appointment of James as special prosecutor
James’s appointment as special prosecutor was supported by Van Houten, according to the Washington Post, who said on Friday that he “trusts that she will examine the facts and apply the law.”
“It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the University,” he said. “The focus has been and should continue to be on the victims.”
A Washington Post report on Thursday cited newly unsealed New York court documents showing that Cornell University conducted an internal disciplinary investigation involving more than 50 interviews with 32 witnesses on the case.
According to the documents, one of the men accused in the lawsuit filed by Doe is pushing to have the disciplinary action against him overturned to clear his academic record.
CBS releases messages sent between victim, defendant
The report followed a CBS News release of message screenshots between a former Cornell student and one of the defendants, allegedly from two days following the assault.
According to CBS, the messages begin with the man apologizing to Doe for “how things went down,” noting that his memory is “kinda fuzzy,” and that he and another man felt bad for being too intoxicated to “shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.”
Doe responded that her memory was “super clouded too,” and that they had all been intoxicated, adding that “non(e) of the sexual stuff was illegal,” and that she reportedly enjoyed being with him and another man.
She later suggested the three of them smoke together again, “but like leave out the extra 5 billion men and ketamine,” CBS reported.
Miriam Sela-Eitam and Reuters contributed to this report.
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