Cornell Police Questioned Fraternity Members on Consent in Rape Investigation

Two investigations are underway concerning allegations made by a former Cornell University student who claims she was raped at a fraternity house in 2024. One investigation aims to determine if criminal charges should be filed, while the other will examine the university's handling of the case.

Newly obtained videos reviewed by ABC News depict Cornell University police questioning members of the university's Chi Phi fraternity in the weeks following the alleged assault. In one video, fraternity members present at the house that night, though not directly involved in the group sex, stated they had heard the encounters were consensual.

"What people were saying was that there was like multiple consenting adults in this room," one fraternity member told police, according to the video. Another stated, "the general rumor that was going around was that it was a ... consensual thing."

The investigator in the video appeared to challenge the fraternity members' claims of knowledge regarding consent. "Dude. I was a college kid," the officer said. "I get it. I'm like, in college, I wouldn't have been like, 'Oh, that was a sick consensual act last night.'" The officer then questioned, "I guess where -- how do they know it was consensual?"

The fraternity member struggled to recall specific details, eventually stating, "I can't recall exactly what was said, but yeah, I mean, they … they said that they had sex with her, I guess." The officer pressed for identification of the fraternity members present, to which the member responded he couldn't recall everyone who had been in the room but remembered the accuser talking to people. "I didn't know exactly what she was doing, no," the member said. "I can't recall exactly everyone who was in there, and like I said before, I don't want to make -- I don't want to make assumptions based on what I don't remember."

Months after the alleged incident, the accuser testified before a Cornell panel, according to a transcript obtained by ABC News. She stated, "I was prostituted and I was held up like bait for a gaggle of men." She recalled "a dark room with shadows of men in and out constantly. And I remember feeling like there was a joke and I was not in on it." She concluded her testimony with a plea for the university to "make it safer for those I love and the community at large ... remove those boys from campus."

Cornell University subsequently expelled two students and suspended two others. The university has now appointed former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to lead an independent review. Yates' review will focus on how Cornell prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and related misconduct. This includes scrutinizing the university's investigative and disciplinary processes, the campus police response, and its oversight of student organizations, including fraternities and sororities.