Cornell Gang Rape Allegations: DA Reopens Probe After Student Sues 7 Fraternity Members

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has reopened a criminal investigation into allegations that seven members of Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted a student in 2024, saying his office will present evidence to a grand jury after a lawsuit brought renewed attention to the case.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the decision followed public pressure and a recent conversation with the woman and her lawyers. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, alleges that she was sexually assaulted at the fraternity house in October 2024 after being pressured to drink alcohol, smoke marijuana and snort ketamine.

The lawsuit, filed on September 16, names the seven men, Chi Phi, Cornell University, an Ithaca bar and other defendants. It seeks undisclosed damages. AP reported that the case has generated criticism of Cornell and the district attorney’s office on social media, while some people have also questioned the allegations and circulated photographs of the seven fraternity members.

Prosecutor revisits decision not to bring charges

The woman was 20 and a Cornell student and sorority member at the time of the alleged assault, according to the complaint. She went to campus police about three weeks after the incident, the lawsuit says.

The complaint alleges that she was pressured to consume drugs and alcohol and later became completely incapacitated while fraternity members sexually assaulted her. It also says the fraternity and seven students were placed on temporary suspension on the day she reported the incident.

Van Houten has given a different account of what was reported to authorities at the time. He said the woman’s initial sworn statement to campus police did not allege that she had been gang-raped or drugged.

The district attorney also said he was not contacted by the woman’s lawyer about her statement or asked to reconsider the decision not to prosecute. Van Houten said he recently contacted the lawyer after the allegations resurfaced publicly.

“Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence,” Van Houten said in a statement. “I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with Jane Doe and her attorneys.”

Van Houten said the office had received a large number of phone calls, voicemails and emails since the lawsuit was filed. Some people sought explanations about the case, while others sent insults and threats.

AP reported that Van Houten’s office has faced questions over why the case did not result in criminal charges after the woman’s initial report.

“The community outrage stemming from the incomplete news and social media coverage requires that I provide an answer to why the investigation resulted in a lack of criminal charges,” Van Houten said in a statement.

The prosecutor’s office will now take the evidence before a grand jury as it reassesses whether criminal charges should be pursued against the seven fraternity members.

Cornell says its disciplinary process led to sanctions

Cornell has backed the decision to reopen the criminal investigation while defending the university’s handling of the allegations.

The university said it conducted its own disciplinary investigation in 2024. A panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over several days, and both the woman and the students accused had the opportunity to testify and present evidence.

Cornell said the process resulted in sanctions including the expulsion of some students and the suspension of others. The university also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.

School officials declined Monday to provide further details about the sanctions, including the number of students expelled or suspended. Cornell said last week that federal privacy law prevented it from disclosing specific information about individual students.

The lawsuit alleges that the students were given “the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”

Cornell disputed the suggestion that essays constituted the sole punishment.

“none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” the university said, pointing to the expulsions and suspensions.

The university also rejected claims that it had imposed only limited consequences.

“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”

The national chapter of Chi Phi did not respond to phone or email messages seeking comment Monday.

Lawsuit puts Cornell’s response under renewed scrutiny

The complaint accuses Cornell of failing to prevent the alleged assaults and of not properly addressing sexual violence on campus.

It includes a photograph that the lawsuit says shows a group chat between fraternity members discussing the events of the night.

The woman’s lawyer did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the prosecutor’s decision.

The renewed attention has prompted questions about both Cornell’s disciplinary process and the earlier decision by prosecutors not to pursue criminal charges.

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed the allegations at a forum near Cornell’s campus on Sunday, describing what she called a “culture of rape” protected by elite institutions.

“When I read what happened at Cornell, those men posted in a group chat. That means it was normal to them. That means it was acceptable to them. This is a culture,” she said Sunday at a forum packed with young people near Cornell’s campus.

“And what we must do is understand that we cannot protect those spaces any more.”

Cornell task force examines sexual assault on campus

The controversy comes as Cornell continues work stemming from a task force on campus sexual assault that was established in 2025.

The task force issued recommendations earlier this year. Cornell said several have been implemented, while others remain in development.

Its report cited a 2025 university survey in which 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men said they had experienced sexual assault during their time at Cornell.

Eeshaan Chaudhuri, a Cornell senior and president of the student government, said the university should take another look at its initial investigation and the reasons the district attorney’s office did not pursue criminal charges.

He also called for greater scrutiny of the culture within the fraternity.

“This issue poses more of a broader question, not just at Cornell,” he said. “Obviously, these things can’t be fixed overnight.”