NY Governor Appoints Special Prosecutor in Cornell Fraternity Rape Case

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday she is appointing the state attorney general as a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of gang rape against a Cornell University student.

The move comes after the Tompkins County district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, reopened a criminal investigation into the 2024 incident. Van Houten had initially declined to prosecute, stating he had no evidence the woman was raped or drugged against her will. The woman filed a lawsuit last month against seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, and others.

Several of the accused men have denied engaging in nonconsensual sex or any physical contact with the woman.

Online speculation and criticism arose regarding the actions of school officials, police, and prosecutors, particularly after no criminal charges were filed.

One claim suggests the woman never told police she was raped, with that allegation appearing only in the recent lawsuit. This is misleading. While the woman initially told campus police she consented to a sexual encounter with two men, she stated she was not comfortable with subsequent events when other men entered the room. According to a transcript obtained by CBS News, she told a campus police officer, "Yes. It was coercion, yes."

The woman also reported to campus police that she was "completely and totally incapacitated" before some of the sexual abuse. She acknowledged consuming alcohol and drugs on the night she visited the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024 and experienced memory gaps. She stated that at least one man assaulted her during the hours-long attack and said, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped."

Another claim states Cornell did not follow up on the woman's allegations. This is false. Upon receiving her report in 2024, the university immediately suspended the Chi Phi fraternity, which remains barred from campus. The school also suspended some students implicated in the allegations and conducted its own investigation. This inquiry involved 50 interviews with 32 witnesses and 12 days of hearings, including interviews with the woman and several of the accused men. An investigative panel produced a 99-page report outlining its findings, according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

School officials stated that the review resulted in some students being expelled or suspended, though they declined to provide specifics, citing federal privacy laws. Following the woman's report, Cornell also formed a task force on campus sexual assault, which issued recommendations earlier this year. Some recommendations have been implemented, while others are in development.

Regarding the university's disciplinary actions, one claim suggests Cornell's only punishment was assigning essays. This is misleading. The university asserts it expelled some students but has not specified how many. However, some students found not responsible for sexual assault allegations were ordered by the university to write essays or attend classes as discipline for other misconduct.

A claim that the prosecutor closed the case without speaking to the victim or reading her police interview transcripts is true. Van Houten stated his decision not to prosecute was based on a summary statement prepared by campus police and signed by the woman, which detailed her interviews. He did not receive a full transcript of the interviews. He noted that the statement did not include the woman's assertions of being sexually assaulted or her allegations of being drugged or forced into sexual acts, leading him to conclude there was no criminal case. Van Houten also said that neither the woman nor her attorney contacted him to reconsider the decision. He believed the information provided by campus police was a comprehensive account of the woman's allegations at the time.