The attorney for the student at the center of an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house stated that his client was “misled” regarding the status of the criminal investigation into her claims. Thomas Giuffra, the attorney for the student identified as Jane Doe, said she was led to believe the probe was active after reporting the alleged October 2024 assault to campus police several weeks later.
However, the investigation had concluded shortly after it began, with Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten deciding against filing charges just days after police initially interviewed Doe. Van Houten stated that he had asked Cornell police to inform Doe of his decision but did not speak with her or her lawyer directly. "I think she was misled. She was told it was still — they weren’t going to prosecute, but they were still investigating," Giuffra told the Associated Press. "I was involved with this case early on. I thought they were still investigating. It was news to me that they weren’t doing anything."
Giuffra indicated that he had assumed investigators required additional time to interview witnesses and build a case, adding, "But nothing was being done, and we didn’t know that."
Last week, Van Houten had announced that his office declined to pursue charges after reviewing a six-page summary of Doe's account written by a police officer. Based on this report, Van Houten concluded that no crime had been committed and that Doe’s sexual participation and drug use that night were “voluntary, conscious and consensual.” This assessment contrasts with what Doe claims she told police and Cornell investigators at the time, as well as her allegations in a lawsuit filed last month against seven former Chi Phi fraternity members and Cornell.
Reports from last week also indicated that a Cornell police investigator had attempted to persuade Van Houten’s office to consider additional evidence in the weeks following the alleged rape, but was reportedly rebuffed. "At first I thought these police were incompetent. It sounds like they were doing the right thing. And they just got shot down," Giuffra remarked.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul transferred the case from Tompkins County on Friday, assigning it to New York Attorney General Letitia James for investigation. Giuffra supported this move, expressing that he "didn’t think [Van Houten] was up to the task" and voiced concerns about the district attorney's plan for conducting the reopened investigation. Van Houten reportedly intended to present the case to a grand jury and have Jane Doe testify within the next two weeks.
Van Houten’s office and Cornell Campus Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment. None of the fraternity brothers named in Jane Doe’s lawsuit have been formally charged with any crimes.