Prosecutors in New York have reopened an investigation into the alleged gang rape of a former Cornell University student following a civil lawsuit accusing the university of failing to adequately protect her and hold the alleged perpetrators accountable.
The case, which dates back to October 2024, will now be reviewed by a grand jury to determine whether criminal charges are warranted, according to Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
The development comes after the former student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit on September 16, alleging that seven members of Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her at the fraternity house.
Van Houten said the allegations contained in the lawsuit differ significantly from the account Doe gave to police during the original investigation in 2024, which ended without criminal charges.
In a statement, the district attorney maintained that the decision not to prosecute in November 2024 was legally justified based on the evidence available at the time. However, he acknowledged the possibility that survivors of sexual assault may need years of therapy and healing to fully process their experiences.
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The grand jury is expected to hear testimony from Doe and consider any new evidence arising from the civil complaint.
Alleged assault at fraternity house
According to the 101-page lawsuit, Doe was 20 years old when the alleged incident occurred on October 19, 2024. She had reportedly been drinking at her sorority house and a bar before visiting a friend at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
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The complaint alleges that she had consumed approximately 10 standard alcoholic drinks within three hours before arriving at the fraternity house. It further claims that her friend and another fraternity member gave her additional alcohol and pressured her into taking a substance they identified as ketamine.
The lawsuit alleges that Doe was subsequently sexually assaulted while incapable of giving consent.
At approximately 1:42 a.m., one of the accused fraternity members allegedly sent a message to a Snapchat group chat titled “Chi Phi Actives,” inviting other members to join what the lawsuit describes as a gang rape.
The complaint further alleges that several fraternity members entered the room, pressured Doe to take more ketamine and participated in an assault that continued until approximately 5:45 a.m.
A screenshot of part of the alleged group chat was included in the lawsuit. Former federal prosecutor Berit Berger told CNN that the messages could become important evidence in the reopened investigation.
Berger also raised questions about whether potentially significant evidence, including witness recollections and digital records, may have been lost during the time that elapsed since the alleged assault.
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District attorney explains why no charges were filed initially
Doe reportedly informed Cornell University Police on November 8, 2024, about the incident. However, the district attorney’s office did not pursue criminal charges following its initial review.
Van Houten said the original police statement described Doe’s participation in drug use and sexual activity as voluntary and consensual. He also stated that, according to the account given at the time, the sexual activity stopped whenever she asked for it to stop.
The district attorney said investigators found no evidence in the original statement that Doe had been drugged without her consent or that the sexual activity had occurred against her will.
He explained that under New York law, mental incapacitation can arise when a person is unable to control their conduct because they were drugged without consent. He said the initial account indicated that Doe had voluntarily taken the substances involved.
However, the civil lawsuit presents a substantially different account, alleging that Doe was pressured into taking drugs and was incapable of consenting to the sexual activity.
The district attorney confirmed that his team had not initially reviewed the fraternity members’ text messages, although he understood that Cornell University had possession of them and later forwarded them to his office.
The reopening of the investigation will allow prosecutors to examine the allegations and any additional evidence presented to the grand jury.
Victim’s attorney questions initial investigation
Doe’s attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, has criticised the handling of the original investigation, arguing that it was inadequate and that his client was not properly interviewed by investigators trained in working with survivors of sexual assault.
Giuffra said Doe had only spoken with the officer who initially received her complaint and had not been contacted by investigators from the district attorney’s office.
He described the decision to reconsider prosecution as a step in the right direction, although he characterised it as long overdue.
The attorney also rejected the suggestion that his client’s account of voluntarily consuming alcohol or drugs established that the alleged sexual activity was consensual.
Giuffra said Doe continues to experience significant emotional and personal difficulties following the alleged assault and is seeking accountability through the legal process.
In her statement to CNN, Doe described the experience as the worst of her life, saying that it had caused physical and emotional injuries and continued to affect her daily life.
She said she hoped to recover from the trauma but feared its effects would remain with her for years.
Giuffra also alleged that Doe and her family had attempted to withdraw her from Cornell after the incident but were told she would have to remain enrolled. He claimed that she spent an entire semester on campus, where she regularly encountered some of the accused students. CNN said it had contacted the university for a response to that allegation.
Cornell denies claims of inadequate disciplinary action
Cornell University has supported the decision to present Doe’s account to a grand jury, while rejecting allegations that it failed to impose meaningful disciplinary sanctions on the students involved.
In a statement issued Monday, the university said it would respond in detail through the legal process and that its disciplinary actions included suspensions and expulsions.
Cornell said the accused students underwent a formal Title IX investigation, separate from the criminal investigation. According to the university, a panel of trained faculty and staff reviewed evidence over multiple days before disciplinary decisions were made.
The university disputed the lawsuit’s claim that the accused students were given the opportunity to reduce their punishment by submitting essays as their sole consequence.
Cornell said the sanctions varied and included suspensions and expulsions, adding that suggestions that the university had imposed only minimal consequences were false.
The institution also said it barred the fraternity’s Xi chapter from campus and established a sexual assault task force shortly after the incident. It said several recommendations from the task force had since been implemented.
Doe’s attorney, however, alleged that two of the seven accused students were expelled, while the others received lesser disciplinary measures, including suspensions, workshops or written assignments.
The university declined to confirm individual disciplinary outcomes, citing federal student privacy laws.
None of the seven fraternity members named in the lawsuit has been criminally charged.
Attorneys representing two of the defendants have denied the allegations against their clients. One attorney said his client had neither sexually assaulted nor touched Doe, while another said the allegations in the civil lawsuit differed from those investigated in 2024.
Lawsuit seeks damages from university and fraternity
The civil complaint names more than a dozen defendants, including the seven fraternity members, Cornell University and the Chi Phi fraternity.
It accuses the defendants of negligence, breach of contract, sexual assault and battery, and violations of New York’s Human Rights Law.
The lawsuit argues that Cornell failed to adequately discipline the accused students and protect Doe, while also alleging that the university shielded them from law enforcement scrutiny.
The complaint seeks a jury trial to determine monetary damages.
The allegations have not been established in court, and the defendants have the opportunity to contest them through the legal process.
Case sparks outrage and renewed debate over campus safety
The allegations have prompted widespread criticism and renewed scrutiny of how universities handle reports of sexual assault.
A 2025 university survey found that approximately 35 per cent of undergraduate women at Cornell reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact during their time at the institution. That figure was higher than the 23 per cent reported in the university’s 2023 survey.
The case has also drawn responses from public figures and local officials.
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York, criticised what she described as a culture of sexual violence at elite universities during a town hall meeting in Ithaca, where Cornell is located.
Actor Florence Pugh also expressed outrage in a lengthy social media post, criticising institutions she believes prioritise the reputations and futures of accused men over the experiences of women who report sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Ithaca Mayor Robert G. Cantelmo called for a temporary suspension of Cornell’s Greek life activities and student group gatherings.
The mayor said the proposed moratorium should remain in place until the university reviews its procedures for preventing and addressing sexual violence and publicly announces new safety standards. The proposal would require approval from the town council.
The Ithaca Police Department also said it was disturbed by the allegations, noting that it had only recently learned of the reported incident through media coverage and that the incident had not been reported to the department.
Grand jury review could bring new developments
The reopened investigation marks a new stage in a case that previously ended without criminal charges but has now drawn renewed attention following the civil lawsuit.
The grand jury will consider Doe’s testimony and any new evidence raised in the complaint as prosecutors assess whether the available material supports criminal charges.
The district attorney has maintained that the original decision was legally correct based on the information then available, while Doe’s attorney has questioned the thoroughness of the earlier investigation.
The outcome of the grand jury review remains uncertain. Meanwhile, the civil lawsuit continues to raise questions about university accountability, campus disciplinary procedures and the treatment of students who report sexual violence.
The allegations against the fraternity members and Cornell University remain subject to the legal process. No criminal charges have been filed against the seven students in connection with the alleged 2024 assault.
