New York state prosecutors announced Monday that they are reopening a criminal investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman at Cornell University in 2024. The decision follows a civil lawsuit filed by the accuser, referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, on September 16, in which she alleged she was drugged and raped by multiple individuals at a Chi Phi fraternity house.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated that the case will now be presented to a grand jury to determine appropriate charges. “Once we determine the appropriate charges, the case will be prosecuted in the most objective and impartial means possible,” Van Houten said. He noted that two years ago, his office concluded that evidence from Jane Doe’s initial statement did not meet the legal threshold for prosecution at that time.
However, Van Houten highlighted discrepancies between the current lawsuit and Jane Doe’s original police report from November 2024. In her initial sworn statement, she described drug use and sexual activity as voluntary, conscious, and consensual, and did not allege that she was drugged against her will or that a gang rape occurred. Van Houten acknowledged that victims of sexual assault may take years to fully process their trauma, noting that he had recently reached out to Jane Doe and her legal team for additional information.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, defended his client’s initial account, stating in a statement obtained by CBS that she was in a state of shock and self-preservation in the days following the incident. Giuffra expressed frustration that law enforcement did not conduct multiple interviews or build a case during the initial investigation, suggesting the DA’s current defensive posture indicates an awareness of prior procedural failures.
The civil lawsuit also accuses Cornell University of failing to protect Jane Doe and adequately punish those involved. She alleges that some students were allowed to mitigate their disciplinary outcomes by submitting essays. In response, the university disputed these claims, stating that a panel of faculty and staff issued a range of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions, and that no charged individuals were offered essay-writing as a sole consequence.
Cornell confirmed that it had suspended the Chi Phi fraternity’s local chapter and several students following the incident in 2024. The fraternity’s Xi chapter remains barred from campus. The university also launched an internal investigation and a Title IX civil rights inquiry.
The case has drawn national attention, with public figures such as actress Florence Pugh and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking out. At Cornell, student reactions have ranged from outrage to solidarity. Sophia Dasser, editor-in-chief of The Cornell Daily Sun, criticized the lack of transparency regarding the Title IX process and called for an independent review of the university’s reporting and resolution mechanisms.
Ithaca Mayor Sheldon Bycoffe has called for a moratorium on all student and special event permits until the university conducts a thorough review of its protocols for preventing and prosecuting sexual violence. A 2025 Cornell task force report indicated that sexual assault rates remain persistently high, with 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reporting experiencing assault during their time at the institution.
Florence Pugh speaking out is huge. Finally, a major celebrity is putting pressure on these college board of trustees.
Cornell’s response about the sanction essays sounds like a PR spin. The university needs an independent review.
It’s good that the DA is reopening it, but two years is too long to wait for basic due process.
The discrepancy between her original police statement and the new lawsuit is really concerning. Prosecutors need to handle this carefully.