New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang rape at Cornell University, saying newly released information had undermined her confidence in the local prosecutor’s handling of the case. In a news conference on Friday, Hochul said that the woman who reported the alleged assault had been failed by institutions responsible for protecting her, including Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County district attorney’s office. I think every parent in this state, every New Yorker wants the truth in this case.” Hochul signed an executive order on Thursday requiring the attorney general to investigate the alleged October 2024 assault.
If warranted, evidence will be presented to a grand jury and the case prosecuted. The order states the Tompkins County district attorney declined to prosecute the case in November 2024 without speaking to Jane Doe and relied, at least in part, on information from a Cornell police statement that omitted her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted. The appointment of James means the state attorney general’s office, rather than the county district attorney, will now control the criminal investigation.
Prosecutors initially closed the case without criminal charges in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation on Monday, after Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexually assaulting her. Van Houten has defended his original decision, saying in a September 28 statement that prosecutors reviewed a six-page sworn statement the woman gave Cornell police in November 2024.
He said the statement did not allege that she had been drugged against her will, and described her participation in sexual conduct as voluntary and consensual. He said multiple prosecutors and investigators reviewed the statement and concluded that, as presented, the facts did not establish a crime under New York law. The governor, however, said the full account given to police was not conveyed to prosecutors.
She cited reports that Jane Doe told investigators she was “100% confident” she had been raped. Cornell has said its police department provided prosecutors with the evidence it had gathered, including a Snapchat screenshot, and that the university separately investigated the allegations through its disciplinary process. Cornell said sanctions imposed after that process included expulsions and suspensions.
Cornell has also said it is conducting an independent review of how it handled the allegations. The Cornell case has renewed debate over New York’s definition of incapacity to consent. Under current state law, a person is considered “mentally incapacitated” when drugs or alcohol are given to someone without consent.
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