New York Attorney General Letitia James said Friday she has opened an “active criminal investigation” into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University in Ithaca in October 2024, after Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed her as an independent special prosecutor in the case.
“This is now an active criminal investigation led by the office of the attorney general,” James said. “Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly, that they will be seen and heard. That is the promise of our justice system.”
“I stand ready to lead a process guided by the facts and the law. In the coming months, my office will dutifully carry out the responsibilities the governor has conferred upon us in this executive order. We will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses, and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions. I know that you want answers. I do too,” James said.
Hochul signed the executive order Thursday, citing “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.”
A woman identified only as Jane Doe filed a civil complaint in September accusing seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity of sexual assault and rape. The complaint alleges she “was plied with alcohol and drugs to the point of intoxication by members of Xi chapter’s fraternal organization,” resulting in her “being sexually assaulted and raped by members of Xi chapter’s regional fraternal organization at Cornell University.”
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s office reviewed the matter at the time and declined to pursue criminal charges. In a Sept. 28, 2026 statement, the office said: “Jane Doe’s sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped. On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual. My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later.”
Cornell University said in a statement that it “fully support[s] the appointment of a special prosecutor and efforts to change New York State’s rape law and are committed to an independent external review of all aspects of how Cornell has handled this case.” The offices of the attorney general and the Tompkins County district attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Hochul, citing a New York Times report, said Doe told Cornell police she had been raped but that this did not appear in the voluntary statement the department forwarded to prosecutors. “According to new reports, [Jane Doe] could not have been clearer that she was 100% confident that she had been raped. Yet, shockingly, those words never made it into the account that the Cornell police sent to prosecutors,” Hochul said.
“The attorney general then declined to pursue charges after reviewing that incomplete account and never interviewing her. Think about that. In what world would the police learn from a victim that she’d been literally gang raped while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house, and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney? In what world does the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?” Hochul asked.
Van Houten pushed back on the implication that he was told the original statement was flawed and failed to act. “I have never been contacted by Jane Doe’s attorneys. Not to inform me the original statement was inaccurate and not to ask me to reconsider our decision. Rather, I reached out to Jane Doe’s attorneys after the lawsuit was filed to understand the discrepancy between the original statement and the lawsuit’s allegations and the proper path forward in light of the lawsuit’s allegations,” he wrote.
Hochul said that alongside James’ criminal investigation, Cornell University has also reopened its own investigation into the case.
