On Monday New York state prosecutors announced they are reopening a criminal inquiry into an alleged gang rape that took place at Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity house on 19 October 2024. The case was initially brought to attention by a civil lawsuit filed by the victim on 16 September 2024, in which the plaintiff alleges she was drugged with ketamine and assaulted by multiple men.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the case will be presented to a grand jury, stating that once the appropriate charges are determined the prosecution will proceed “in the most objective and impartial means possible.”
Cornell University has defended its handling of the alleged assault, asserting that the university did impose sanctions on the implicated students and that “any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments is false.”
According to the lawsuit, the victim, who is referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, was intoxicated on the night of the alleged assault and claimed she was unable to provide consent. She reported the incident to Cornell Police on 8 November 2024. The complaint also references an image that purports to come from a Snapchat group chat in which a participant allegedly mentioned the possibility of a sexual encounter with Doe.
In 2022 the district attorney’s office concluded that evidence from Doe’s statement to police did not meet the threshold to bring criminal charges. However, Van Houten has since reached out to Doe and her lawyers to obtain additional information before presenting the matter to a grand jury.
A grand jury convenes to weigh evidence and determine whether charges should be filed. In the statement released by the DA, he noted that Doe’s sworn statement in November described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as “voluntary, conscious, and consensual,” a position that contradicts the allegations in her civil suit.
Thomas Giuffra, Doe’s lawyer, said the victim was “traumatized” and “unable to process the event” immediately after the assault. Giuffra criticized law‑enforcement’s failure to interview Doe multiple times and to collect evidence in a manner that is standard for serious crimes, describing the district attorney’s approach as defensive.
The lawsuit accuses Cornell of failing to protect Doe and of allowing the accused men to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays. Cornell responded that a “panel of trained faculty and staff” reviewed the case and imposed expulsions, suspensions, and other sanctions, rejecting the notion that the “sole consequence” was essay writing.
Jeremy Saland, attorney for one of the men named in the lawsuit, denied that his client engaged in sexual activity, touched the plaintiff, or ingested ketamine, acknowledging only that the client “made an immature comment” on Snapchat.
The reopening of the case has drawn national attention. Public figures such as actress Florence Pugh and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez have spoken out, and the Cornell Daily Sun’s editorial board has called for an independent third‑party review of the reporting and resolution processes.
Ithaca Mayor has placed a temporary moratorium on student and special event permits at the university while the school conducts an audit of its protocols for preventing and prosecuting sexual violence.
A 2025 task‑force report on campus sexual assault found that 35 % of undergraduate women and 8 % of undergraduate men at Cornell reported experiencing sexual assault during their time at the university. The report acknowledges persistent high rates despite a long history of preventive measures.
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