Cornell Police Made Drug Arrest at Frat House Hours Before Alleged Gang Rape Lawsuit
The arrest at the Chi Phi fraternity house occurred less than 24 hours before seven former members were accused in a civil lawsuit of gang raping a classmate.
Campus police at Cornell University arrested a student on drug charges at the Chi Phi fraternity house approximately 24 hours before former members of the fraternity are accused in a civil lawsuit of gang raping a fellow student. The independent campus newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, resurfaced the crime log entry, which occurred around 1 a.m. on October 19, 2024.
The university-owned fraternity house hosted a party later that day, which continued into the following morning. This party is identified in the civil lawsuit filed on behalf of an unidentified Jane Doe, who reported allegations of sexual assault to university police on November 8, 2024. Doe told investigators she was attacked between 11 p.m. on October 19 and 5:45 a.m. on October 20.
According to the lawsuit, Doe also alleges she was pressured into snorting ketamine, a drug that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warns can be used to facilitate sexual assault. The Chi Phi fraternity was suspended on November 8, 2024, the same day Doe reported her allegations to campus police.
Tompkins County prosecutors initially declined to file criminal charges after Doe's first report. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten stated that Doe's sworn statement in November 2024 did not allege she was drugged against her will or gang-raped, describing her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as "voluntary, conscious, and consensual." However, a transcript of a later interview with investigators on November 14 and 15 revealed Doe stating with "100% confidence I was raped." Van Houten acknowledged this information would "change the landscape."
New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to examine the allegations raised in Doe's lawsuit. Separately, Cornell University is investigating vandalism that occurred early Monday at Day Hall, an administrative building, where windows were smashed and slogans were spray-painted in red. Kyle Kimball, the university's vice president for university relations, condemned the vandalism, stating that damaging property is not the answer.