Prosecutors in Tompkins County, New York, have announced the reopening of their investigation into an alleged gang rape that occurred at a Cornell University fraternity house in 2024. The decision follows public outrage sparked by a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month by a former student, known as Jane Doe, who accuses seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of drugging and assaulting her.
District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated in a public release that his office is evaluating whether to present the case to a grand jury for potential criminal charges. However, he emphasized a significant discrepancy between the new civil complaint and the account the accuser provided to police two years ago. “The allegations in the civil complaint are dramatically different than Jane Doe’s statement to police,” Van Houten said. “It is our intention to present the case to the Tompkins County grand jury with Jane Doe’s cooperation.”
Van Houten explained that the initial decision not to charge any individuals in 2024 was based on the woman’s original police statement, which did not allege she was drugged without her knowledge. According to the DA, she admitted to voluntarily consuming drugs and alcohol and did not claim she was forced to engage in sexual acts or was physically helpless during the incident.
Thomas Giuffra, attorney for Jane Doe, strongly disputed Van Houten’s characterization of the initial police report. Giuffra argued that authorities failed to conduct a proper investigation, noting that university police officers lacked the specialized training required to handle sexual assault cases sensitively. “Ms. Doe was never contacted by anybody with those skills,” Giuffra said, criticizing both Cornell Police and the DA’s office for a lack of follow-up.
The DA acknowledged that his office relied on the Cornell Police investigation and did not conduct an independent probe, a practice he described as common among upstate New York counties. Additionally, Van Houten revealed that a group chat included in the civil lawsuit, which allegedly contains messages from fraternity members discussing the incident, was never provided to his office. Giuffra referred to these messages as a “critical piece of evidence” that was available to authorities in 2024 but ignored.
Cornell University confirmed that the Chi Phi chapter remains barred from campus. In a statement issued on September 21, the university affirmed that it takes sexual violence allegations seriously and that its Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards adjudicated the matter in accordance with university policies. Federal privacy laws prevent the institution from disclosing specific details regarding student disciplinary outcomes.
Attorneys for the named defendants have denied the allegations. Jeremy Saland, representing defendant Scott Kretzschmar, stated that his client never sexually assaulted the plaintiff. Another defendant, Scott Norris, denied engaging in sexual activity or drug use, though he acknowledged sending a message referenced in the complaint. Norris clarified that he only briefly entered the room where the misconduct occurred and was not present during the incident itself.
If the original police interview was botched, how can we trust any prior findings? Due process matters for everyone involved.
Glad they’re reopening this. The university should stop hiding behind privacy laws when campus safety is at stake.