A woman, identified only by the pseudonym Jane Doe, has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she was sexually assaulted by seven men at a Cornell University fraternity house. According to a report by CBS New York, which obtained a transcript of her police interview, she boldly stated, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped." This declaration has raised new concerns regarding the local district attorney's decision not to prosecute any of the alleged assailants at the time of the incident.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has maintained that the woman’s initial statement to police lacked key elements, such as claims of being drugged, incapacitated, or forced into sex. Nevertheless, he acknowledged reopening the investigation following new details revealed in her lawsuit, filed in September 2024. The incident reportedly occurred on October 19, 2024, when the woman first approached Cornell's campus police about three weeks later and returned for further interviews on November 14 and 15, 2024.
During her interactions with police, she described the experience as coercion and expressed that she was "completely and totally incapacitated" before some of the sexual abuse occurred. The woman admitted to consuming alcohol and drugs, including ketamine, that night, resulting in memory gaps throughout the event. She indicated comfort with an initial sexual encounter involving two of the men but later described a traumatic experience as other men entered the room, stating, "And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time. Physically hit very, very hard." She reiterated her conviction that she had been raped.
In her lawsuit, Jane Doe claims that fraternity members pressured her into using drugs and subsequently sexually assaulted her during her incapacitation. The district attorney's office, according to Van Houten, had not seen the transcript of her police interview when the decision was made not to bring charges. Instead, they relied on a statement that a campus police officer had prepared and signed by the accuser. The district attorney defended the decision not to pursue additional investigations, asserting that they possessed ample information from the very detailed statement provided by the woman.
Cornell University publicly acknowledged the investigation into the woman's allegations on November 8, 2024, alongside notifying students of a reported sexual assault at a fraternity house, where the victim alleged coercion related to drug use. The university promptly suspended the Chi Phi fraternity and expressed serious concerns regarding "deeply disturbing allegations of drug abuse and sexual violence" at their campus. This led to the establishment of a task force aimed at addressing sexual misconduct within the university.
However, in light of the district attorney's decision not to pursue charges and the limited transparency around the university's internal disciplinary processes, public scrutiny of the case diminished. In a recent statement, Cornell indicated its support for reopening the criminal investigation and noted that past investigations had led to disciplinary measures, including expulsions of some students. The Chi Phi chapter remains banned from campus, although the university is refraining from disclosing specific details about the consequences faced by individual students, citing privacy regulations.
