Cornell sexual assault case revisited after woman says she was drugged, gang-raped by fraternity
by Matt Delaney · The Washington TimesProsecutors in upstate New York revived a criminal investigation Monday into an alleged drug-fueled fraternity gang rape at Cornell University after a woman filed a civil lawsuit against seven men.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he will take the case to court after woman, who went by Jane Doe in the civil suit, said she was pressured into taking drugs and drinking alcohol in the October 2024 attack at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
“Once we determine the appropriate charges, the case will be prosecuted in the most objective and impartial means available — by testimony to the Tompkins County Grand Jury,” Mr. Van Houten wrote in a statement.
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The lawsuit said Doe was coerced into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and consuming alcohol by two of the men. The men then advertised that Doe was available for sex, and several other fraternity members arrived to assault her over several hours, according to the suit.
Two of the fraternity members were expelled after the incident, but no arrests or criminal charges were brought forward, the lawsuit states.
Mr. Van Houten said he is looking into the case again because he said the accusations in the civil complaint, filed Sept. 16, are “dramatically different” than what the woman told police two years ago.
He said the woman never mentioned a gang rape or pressure to consume drugs and alcohol when the attack was first reported to police. Mr. Van Houten said the woman originally said she voluntarily consumed the drugs, and that the sexual intercourse was also conscious and consensual.
The prosecutor said the woman’s attorney never contacted authorities about why a criminal case was not pursued, nor did they reach out to provide more details about her initial statements.
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“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,” Mr. Van Houten said in a statement.
He said multiple prosecutors and criminal investigators reviewed Doe’s statement to police and determined there was no criminal conduct that warranted charges.
However, Mr. Van Houten acknowledged to ABC News that his office relied on the account the woman gave to Cornell University police and did not conduct its own investigation.
The lawsuit also names the Chi Phi fraternity, Cornell University and a bar in Ithaca as defendants in the filing. She seeks undisclosed damages in the case.
Cornell said it encourages revisiting the criminal allegations, but the university also defended its internal disciplinary process that involved a multiday hearing between the woman and alleged perpetrators. The university ultimately kicked Chi Phi off campus.
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The woman’s lawsuit said two of the alleged assailants were expelled as well.
Thomas Giuffra, Doe’s attorney, told CBS News his client was “traumatized, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened” in the immediate wake of the alleged attack.
“She was in self-preservation mode,” Mr. Giuffra said.
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