Seven men, a drug-fuelled night and a rape allegation that prosecutors once declined to charge , now a new lawsuit has forced the explosive Cornell case back into the criminal spotlight. New York prosecutors have reopened their investigation into the alleged 2024 assault and are preparing to take the case before a grand jury.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, was 20 and a Cornell University student when she went to the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca on 19 October 2024. She alleges in a 101-page lawsuit that she was drugged with ketamine, became incapable of consenting and was sexually assaulted by seven men over several hours.
The lawsuit accuses the men of sexual assault and battery and also names Cornell University and the fraternity, alleging that the university failed to adequately protect her or punish those involved.
The allegations have triggered renewed scrutiny partly because of messages from a Chi Phi group chat. Cornell University Police provided an image of the Snapchat group to prosecutors in November 2024. The messages allegedly discussed the possibility of a sexual encounter with Jane Doe in crude terms.
But the case contains a major point of dispute.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said prosecutors originally concluded that the evidence available in 2024 did not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges. He said Jane Doe’s sworn statement to Cornell police did not allege that she had been drugged against her will or gang raped and described her participation in drug use and sexual activity as voluntary and consensual.
However, CBS News New York, which obtained a transcript of her police interviews, reported that Doe later told investigators she was certain she had been raped during the later part of the encounter.
The conflicting accounts have become central to the reopened investigation.
Van Houten has now said his office will gather additional information before determining appropriate charges and will present the case to a grand jury.
Cornell has rejected allegations that it failed to act against those involved. The university says its internal proceedings resulted in sanctions including expulsions and suspensions. It also says the Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
The civil lawsuit has nevertheless reignited scrutiny of Cornell’s handling of the allegations, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul calling for an independent investigation.
No criminal charges have been announced against the seven men in connection with the reopened investigation, and the allegations contained in the civil lawsuit have not been proven in court.
