New York prosecutors reopen investigation after student files lawsuit over alleged gang rape at Cornell University

Grand Jury to Reconsider Cornell Assault Allegations After Civil Suit

Earthguardiansonline.com – New York prosecutors will take a fresh look at allegations that a former Cornell University student was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in 2024, following the filing of a civil lawsuit this month against the university, the fraternity and several students.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said a grand jury will examine the matter and determine whether criminal charges are supported. An earlier review ended without charges, but the allegations raised in the new complaint differ substantially from the woman’s original statement to police, he said.

“The decision made in November of 2024 that the evidence did not support the filing of criminal charges was legally correct,” Van Houten said. “At the same time, I recognize the reality that it can take years of therapy and healing for victims of sexual assaults to fully process and understand what happened to them.”

The grand jury is expected to consider testimony from the former student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, along with potential new evidence connected to the civil case.

Lawsuit names Cornell, fraternity and students

The 101-page complaint, filed September 16, identifies more than a dozen defendants. They include Cornell University, the Chi Phi fraternity and seven fraternity members connected to the alleged October 2024 assault. The suit contains claims involving negligence, breach of contract, sexual assault and battery, as well as alleged violations of New York’s Human Rights Law.

None of the seven named fraternity members has been criminally charged.

Doe alleges that seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter drugged and sexually assaulted her at the fraternity house. The filing also includes an image of part of a Snapchat group conversation that the lawsuit says invited additional fraternity members to participate in the assault.

The allegations have intensified scrutiny of the way colleges respond when students report sexual violence. Campus procedures may involve internal investigations, interim restrictions and disciplinary hearings, while criminal investigations are handled separately by law enforcement and prosecutors. A university response does not itself decide whether a crime occurred, and the absence of criminal charges does not resolve the civil claims raised in a lawsuit.

Events alleged from October 19, 2024

The complaint states that Doe, then 20, had spent time drinking at her sorority house and at a bar before going to the Chi Phi house to see a friend who was among the fraternity members. It says she arrived on the night of October 19, 2024, after consuming roughly 10 standard drinks over three hours.

Once at the house, the suit alleges, the friend and another member gave her additional alcohol and urged her to snort a substance they described as ketamine. It contends that she subsequently became unable to consent and was sexually assaulted.

At approximately 1:42 a.m., one of the accused men allegedly posted a message in the fraternity Snapchat group, titled “Chi Phi Actives,” saying there was “free p*ssy” upstairs. The complaint characterizes that post as encouragement for other members of the Xi Chapter to join what it calls a gang rape.

Several fraternity members then entered the room, the lawsuit says. It alleges that Doe was pressured to take more ketamine and was subjected to an assault that lasted for hours, ending at about 5:45 a.m.

Ketamine is an anesthetic that can cause dissociation, confusion and impaired awareness. In sexual-assault cases, questions about intoxication, drugs, memory and consent can become central both to a criminal inquiry and to a civil case. Prosecutors must assess whether evidence can meet the legal standard for criminal charges, while civil claims generally proceed under a different burden of proof.

Questions over Cornell’s response

The lawsuit says Doe reported the incident to the Cornell University Police Department on November 8, 2024. It alleges Cornell suspended the Chi Phi chapter and the seven accused students on a temporary basis, but faults the university’s subsequent handling of the matter.

The complaint claims the students were allowed to lessen the consequences through essays submitted to Cornell. The university has denied that assertion.

Doe’s suit further accuses Cornell of failing to impose adequate discipline after the alleged assault while protecting the accused from engagement with law enforcement and silencing victims. Those claims remain allegations in civil litigation and have not been established in court.

The Ithaca Police Department said it was disturbed by the 2024 allegations. The department said it learned of the claimed incident recently through media coverage and that no report about it had been made to the agency.

The distinction between Cornell University Police and the Ithaca Police Department is significant to understanding the case. Campus police and local police can have different roles and jurisdictions, and a report made to one agency may not necessarily mean another agency has received the same information. The renewed review by the district attorney’s office will focus on evidence available for a potential criminal case.

A renewed legal process

A grand jury typically hears evidence in private and decides whether there is sufficient basis to issue an indictment. Its work does not decide the civil lawsuit, which may continue through its own court process. Nor does the decision to convene a grand jury mean that charges will necessarily result.

For Doe, the litigation and renewed prosecutorial review place the alleged events back under formal examination nearly two years after the original investigation concluded without criminal action. For Cornell and the defendants, the case raises serious questions about institutional accountability, student safety and the processes used when allegations of sexual violence emerge on campus.

The case is likely to remain closely watched as prosecutors present the new material to the grand jury and the civil action moves forward.