Prosecutors in New York have reopened the investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University after the reported victim filed a lawsuit. The woman, who has not been identified, says she was sexually assaulted by seven students at a fraternity in October 2024 after being plied with alcohol and drugs.
The woman, then aged 20, said she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house after being pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking cannabis, and drinking alcohol, and became completely incapacitated while fraternity members were sexually assaulting her.
District Attorney announces grand jury review
Two weeks after the lawsuit was filed, Matthew Van Houten, the area's District Attorney, announced on Monday (September 28) that his office will present evidence to a grand jury. “Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence,” Van Houten said in a statement.
“I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with Jane Doe [the victim's pseudonym] and her attorneys.”
The woman went to campus police at the time, but Van Houten said the accuser did not make any claims of being gang-raped or drugged in her initial sworn statement to authorities. The prosecutor also said he was never contacted by the woman's attorney about her statement or about reconsidering the decision not to prosecute, but he reached out to the attorney recently.
University responds to lawsuit and reopening
The lawsuit, the reopening of the investigation and Cornell's response have sparked a flood of commentary on social media. The accuser is suing the men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, an Ithaca bar and others, seeking undisclosed damages.
In response, Cornell University said in a statement that it supports the decision to reopen the investigation. The school said it conducted its own investigation and issued sanctions, including expelling some students and suspending others. It also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
School officials on Monday declined to release more information on the sanctions, including how many students were expelled and suspended. Cornell said last week that federal privacy law barred it from disclosing specific information on individual students.
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
Allegations and university task force
The national chapter of Chi Phi did not return phone and email messages on Monday. The school said it conducted an internal disciplinary investigation in 2024, with a panel of trained faculty and staff hearing evidence over multiple days, and both the woman and the people accused had the opportunity to testify and present evidence.
The woman's complaint accuses the university of not preventing the alleged assaults and failing to properly address sexual violence on campus. It includes a photo that it says shows a group chat between fraternity members discussing the night's events.
The woman, who was a 20-year-old Cornell student at the time and a sorority member, went to campus police about three weeks later, according to the lawsuit. The fraternity and seven of its members were placed on temporary suspension that same day, the lawsuit said.
The complaint said the seven were given “the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.” Cornell said “none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” noting the expulsions and suspensions.
The university added it created a school task force on campus sexual assault in 2025, which made recommendations earlier this year, several of which have been implemented while others are in development. The task force report said a 2025 school survey showed 35 percent of undergraduate women and 8 percent of undergraduate men reported experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell.
