New York Gov. Kathy Hochul took the Cornell fraternity rape case away from the Tompkins County district attorney and gave it to Attorney General Letitia James, because the police report sent to prosecutors left out the woman’s own words: “I can say with 100 percent I was raped.” Hochul said the district attorney did not do the “bare minimum.” No one has been charged.
Story Snapshot
- Hochul signed the order on Thursday, October 1, and stood with James at a news conference on Friday, October 2.
- James is now the special prosecutor, an outside lawyer put in charge of a case in place of the local district attorney.
- The district attorney’s office says it never received the full transcript of the woman’s police interview.
- No criminal charges have been filed, and Cornell agreed to an outside review of how it handled the case.
Governor’s Intervention and Shift to State Oversight
A former Cornell University student says she was drugged and raped by several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. She has filed a civil lawsuit against the university and seven men. Cornell police interviewed her and sent a six-page summary to District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. According to reports, her statement that she was sure she had been raped was not in that summary. His office decided there was not enough evidence to charge anyone.
Hochul’s order names James as special prosecutor. The governor said newly released information had “undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time.” At the news conference Friday, she said the woman “was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.” She also said, “I am deeply disturbed by Cornell University’s police and how they handled this.”
The Evidence Gap at the Heart of the Dispute
Van Houten has said the six-page summary convinced him that no crime had taken place. He has acknowledged that his office relied on the Cornell police investigation and did not investigate on its own. His office says it never received the full interview transcript. Hochul faulted him for not interviewing the woman before he made that decision. He reopened the case days before the governor stepped in, after the lawsuit and the public pressure that followed.
James called the matter “an active criminal investigation.” She said, “Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly.” She also said her office will look at how Cornell handled the allegations. Lawyers for the woman welcomed the change and said they had “zero confidence” in the district attorney. The seven men named in the lawsuit are accused, not charged, and no court has found that any of them committed a crime.
Why Both Sides of the Aisle See a System Problem
Cornell disciplined students through its own campus process. Two fraternity members were expelled and others were suspended, and the Chi Phi chapter was closed and banned. The university has now agreed to an independent review of its handling of the case. A campus hearing can remove a student from school. Only a prosecutor can bring a criminal charge, and that prosecutor depends on what police send over.
That is the part that will bother readers of any party. A woman told police in plain words what she says happened to her, and the report that reached the prosecutor did not carry those words. A decision not to charge was then made on the shorter record. The attorney general now runs the case, and her office can interview every person involved.
Sources:
abc7news.com, cnn.com, nytimes.com, cbsnews.com, statements.cornell.edu
