(The Center Square) — New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Friday she will open a criminal investigation into the alleged 2024 gang rape of a 20-year-old woman by several Cornell University.
“We will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses, and if warranted, pursue prosecutions,” James said during a news conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul. “I know you want answers and I do too.”
This comes after Hochul said she is “deeply disturbed” at the original investigation conducted by Cornell police following gang rape allegations at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024 and now wants the state to take over.
Late Thursday, Hochul took the extraordinary step of signing an executive order appointing James as a special prosecutor to head the investigation, saying she had “lost faith” in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten to properly investigate the young woman’s claims.
“Every parent who sends their child to college expects them to be safe and if something terrible happens, the student deserves to know that the people they turn to will listen to them, protect them and fight for them,” Hochul said. “I will not allow this case to be swept under the rug.”
Hochul said James will “investigate the incident and, if warranted, prosecute any offenses arising from the investigation and present evidence to a grand jury.”
In remarks, James said there is already an “active criminal investigation” into the case but didn’t provide additional details.
The alleged victim, identified as “Jane Doe,” filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging the elite school failed to protect her by refusing to pursue criminal charges against the men involved. According to the complaint, Doe arrived at the fraternity house intoxicated, was pressured into taking the drug ketamine and subjected to sexual acts without her consent.
While Cornell conducted an internal investigation and expelled or suspended several of the students, according to published accounts, no criminal charges were brought against the accused. The investigation initially was closed in 2024.
But Hochul said new details about the alleged assault released on Thursday have raised “troubling questions about what was done and not done after this young woman came forward” and ripped into Cornell, police and local prosecutors for failing to investigate those claims two years ago. Hochul said the woman was clear in telling police that she had been raped.
“Yet, shocking, those words never made it into the account that Cornell police sent to prosecutors,” she said Friday. “This woman, this young woman, had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable, and then at every turn she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.”
The governor said she supports closing a “loophole” in New York law she says makes it “nearly impossible” for survivors to seek justice if they voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs before an assault.
“If someone is too intoxicated to consent it should not matter if they chose to use drugs or alcohol,” Hochul said in her remarks. “Voluntary intoxication is not a licence for gang rape, period.”
The lawsuit filed by the woman accuses Cornell and the other defendants of breach of contract, negligence and violations of state law. The woman is seeking monetary damages, but the lawsuit does not specify how much she is seeking.
This post was originally published on The Center Square.