Cornell rape allegations: Details revealed in grim 2024 case
The Cornell rape allegations made by a former student against 7 members of the Chi Phi fraternity are getting a second look from prosecutors. The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office in New York said Monday, Sept. 28, that it is reopening its criminal investigation and will bring the case to a grand jury, CBS News reported.
The woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, was 20 when she says she was drugged and raped at the fraternity house on Cornell’s campus in Ithaca on the night of Oct. 19 into Oct. 20, 2024. No one has been criminally charged. The men named in her civil lawsuit have not been found liable, and attorneys for 2 of them deny the allegations.
What the Cornell rape allegations lawsuit claims
Doe filed the civil suit Sept. 16, according to the BBC. It names 7 then-members of Chi Phi, Cornell University, Chi Phi’s chapter and national organization and others, NBC News reported.
According to the lawsuit, Doe was already intoxicated when she went to the fraternity house to visit a friend. She alleges 2 members pressured her into taking what they said was ketamine and then sexually assaulted her. The suit says a member posted a crude message in a Chi Phi Snapchat group chat around 1:42 a.m. suggesting a woman upstairs was available for sex, and that more men came into the room and the assaults went on until 5:45 a.m., CBS News reported.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of breach of contract, negligence and violations of state law. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages but does not name an amount.
“It affects every aspect of my life. It will haunt me and be part of me the rest of my life,” Doe said in a written statement Monday, NBC News reported.
Why the DA declined charges on the Cornell rape allegations in 2024
Doe first reported the Cornell rape allegations to Cornell University Police about 3 weeks after the alleged assault. Her interview with campus police began Nov. 14, 2024, and continued the next day, according to a transcript obtained by CBS News New York. In it, she said, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the sworn statement his office received in November 2024 “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.” He said that statement “described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.” Van Houten told CBS News he never saw the full transcript and that if anything was left out of the statement, “it needs to be fully investigated by someone outside of Cornell.”
Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said his client was never interviewed by anyone “other than the officer who took her original complaint,” and that the group chat was a lead investigators never followed. Van Houten said the officer was an experienced investigator trained in sexual assault cases. He also said Doe’s lawyers never contacted his office before filing the lawsuit.
Cornell’s response and the sanctions
Cornell said it investigated the Cornell rape allegations under Title IX, and a hearing panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days and issued sanctions that included expulsions and suspensions. Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff told student government Sept. 29 that 2 students were expelled, 2 were suspended for at least 2 semesters, 1 graduated before he could be punished and 2 were found not responsible for sexual misconduct, CBS News reported.
The lawsuit claims some students were allowed to “mitigate their conduct” by writing essays. Cornell disputed that, saying, “None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement.” The university added that the “false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible.” The Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sept. 30 that Cornell agreed, amid public outrage over the Cornell rape allegations, to bring in outside counsel for an independent investigation. “I want answers. And I want accountability,” she wrote on X.
What the accused men say
Jeremy Saland, an attorney for one of the accused men, told CBS News that his client posted an “ugly” Snapchat message but never touched the woman. He said the university found his client not responsible and that a hair follicle test showed no ketamine in his system. Andrew Miltenberg, who represents another defendant, said his client “unequivocally denies the allegations against him” and that “accusations are not proof.”
CBS News also reported on text messages that a source said were exchanged 2 days after the night in question between Doe and one of the defendants, in which she wrote that none of “the sexual stuff was illegal.” Giuffra confirmed she texted that defendant but could not confirm those were the specific messages. He said she was traumatized, in denial and trying to learn what happened.
What happens next in the Cornell rape allegations case
Van Houten told CBS News he hopes to present the Cornell rape allegations to a grand jury within 45 days, and that jurors can consider the charges laid out in the civil complaint as well as others. Cornell said it supports the decision. Giuffra called the reopening “a step in the right direction, albeit a late one.”
The lawsuit says Ithaca police are investigating, but the Ithaca Police Department told CBS News New York the alleged incident was never reported to it. Cornell said its own sworn police department handled the case and shared it with the DA’s office under standard protocol.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is available at 1-800-656-4673 or through RAINN’s online chat. For more news coverage, visit our Special Interests and Lifestyles sections.