Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced on Monday that he has reopened a criminal investigation into the alleged gang rape of a former Cornell University student. The decision follows a civil lawsuit alleging seven Chi Phi fraternity members drugged and assaulted the woman in October 2024.
The investigation returns to a case that initially resulted in no criminal charges. Van Houten told ABC News that his office intends to present the case to a grand jury with the cooperation of the victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe.
Discrepancies in the 2024 Police Statements
Van Houten described the new allegations as dramatically different from the statement Doe gave to police two years ago.
“She never says that she was drugged without her knowledge. She admits to taking drugs and alcohol voluntarily and with knowledge. She does not allege that she was forced to engage in any acts. She does not say that she was physically helpless or unconscious or incapacitated at any point during the time at the fraternity house.”
Matthew Van Houten, Tompkins County District Attorney
Thomas Giuffra, the attorney representing Doe, disputes this characterization. Giuffra claimed neither the district attorney nor Cornell police ever followed up with his client after the initial report.
A central point of contention is a Snapchat group chat titled Chi Phi Actives. The lawsuit includes a screenshot from 1:42 a.m. stating there was free pussy upstairs, which Doe alleges was used to invite other fraternity members to join the assault. While Giuffra asserts this evidence was provided in 2024, Van Houten told ABC News the screenshot was never provided to his office at that time.
The October 2024 Assault Allegations
The lawsuit details an ordeal that began around 11 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2024, at the Chi Phi’s Xi Chapter fraternity house. Doe, who was 20 at the time, alleges she went to the house to hang out with a friend, who is one of the seven men listed in the lawsuit. Doe alleges she was visibly intoxicated after consuming about 10 drinks in three hours. She claims she was coerced into snorting ketamine after refusing a threesome with two fraternity members.
In the filing, Doe claims she was moved upstairs, where she was forced to consume alcohol and drugs and was sexually abused throughout the night and into Oct. 20. The assault continued until approximately 5:45 a.m. on Oct. 20. Doe alleges she was left unconscious and later discovered bruising. She reported the incident to Cornell University Police roughly three weeks later, on or around Nov. 8, 2024.
The case has since drawn national attention, including a statement from actress Florence Pugh. Pugh described the allegations as deeply disturbing and urged men to lead conversations on changing the allowance and complicity of this behaviour. After reading about the young woman who was gang raped at her college by her friend and school peers, I’m feeling uneasy and sick and anxious,
Pugh wrote on Instagram. I’m processing quietly and watching everything and everyone and every man.
Cornell University’s Disciplinary Response
Cornell has faced criticism over the sanctions imposed on the seven named students. While the university’s Xi chapter of Chi Phi remains barred from campus, the individual punishments are disputed.
The Plaintiff’s Claim: Attorney Thomas Giuffra told CBS News that only two of the seven accused members were expelled, while others were punished with essays, workshops, or short suspensions. None were arrested.
Cornell’s Response: The university clarified that while expulsions and suspensions were among the sanctions, no one charged was permitted to write an essay as the only penalty for their actions.
The university maintains that it takes sexual violence extremely seriously and supports the DA’s decision to bring the case before a grand jury.
Investigation Failures and Next Steps
This reliance on campus police is a primary point of failure according to Giuffra, who argued that university officers lack the specialized training required to interview rape survivors.
Van Houten admitted the process is challenging, noting that victims of sexual assaults may require years of healing and therapy to completely comprehend and process their experiences. He further stated, My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later.
The DA’s office is now seeking to determine if new evidence exists that would change the original assessment of the case. Van Houten told ABC News, We want to reexamine whether there's additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024, that exists now that would change our assessment of the case and would result in the grand jury finding that there was criminal conduct.