New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed the state’s Attorney General, Letitia James, as a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that a woman was drugged and sexually assaulted by several men at a fraternity house at Cornell University.
The decision removes Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from oversight of the criminal investigation, after Hochul said newly surfaced information had raised serious concerns about how the case was previously handled.
“New information has raised serious questions about how this case was handled, and I’ve lost faith in the Tompkins County DA’s ability to fairly oversee it,” Hochul said in announcing the appointment.
The allegations date back to 2024 and recently returned to national attention after the woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell University in September.
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Doe alleges that she was drugged and raped by seven men at a fraternity house. The men have subsequently been referred to publicly as the “Cornell Seven.”
The case was initially referred to Van Houten’s office in 2024. At the time, prosecutors decided not to bring criminal charges, with Van Houten saying his office had insufficient evidence to meet the legal threshold for prosecution.
According to Van Houten, prosecutors had received a statement from Doe that appeared to indicate the encounter was consensual and that she had not been drugged.
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However, Van Houten’s office reopened the investigation following the filing of the civil lawsuit.
Cornell University has said it provided evidence from its own investigation to the district attorney’s office. Among the material reportedly provided was a Snapchat group conversation in which fraternity members allegedly discussed a “free” sexual encounter with Doe on the night in question.
Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has accused the district attorney of changing his account of how the case was handled as details emerged in the media.
Van Houten has defended his office’s original decision not to prosecute, saying prosecutors were not provided with sufficient evidence to satisfy the applicable legal standard. His office has also said that some of the information that became public recently had not previously been provided to prosecutors.
Under Hochul’s order, Attorney General Letitia James will lead the investigation and, if warranted, prosecute any offenses identified. The attorney general’s office may also present evidence to a grand jury, according to the governor.
James said on social media that her office was prepared to conduct the investigation according to the facts and the law.
“The Governor has entrusted my office with this investigation, and we do not take that responsibility lightly,” James said.
Hochul and James are expected to provide an update on the investigation on Friday morning local time.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations have not been established in criminal court. The appointment of a special prosecutor is intended to allow the allegations and available evidence to be reviewed independently by the state attorney general’s office.
