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Why did prosecutors reopen the case?

The Cornell University sexual assault investigation has been reopened in New York state, where Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the criminal review into the 2024 case is back underway and will be presented to a grand jury once appropriate charges are identified.

At this stage, prosecutors have contacted the woman’s lawyers to share additional information. The woman is identified in court records as Jane Doe. Van Houten said an initial review after the incident found that the statement given to authorities in 2024 did not meet the legal threshold needed to bring criminal charges.

What allegations are included in the civil lawsuit?

According to the civil lawsuit filed on September 16, the woman was assaulted by multiple men on the night of October 19, 2024 at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in an environment involving alcohol and ketamine. The filing says she was intoxicated and unable to consent, and notes that a complaint was filed with university police on November 8, 2024.

The case also includes an image said to have come from a Snapchat group chat. In that exchange, one participant allegedly warned the others in crude terms about the possibility of a sexual encounter with Jane Doe.

Where do the prosecutor and the alleged victim’s account differ?

Van Houten said the sworn statement given to university police in November 2024 did not match the allegations in the civil suit. According to the prosecutor, the original account did not describe being drugged against her will or being gang raped. Lawyers for the alleged victim argue that, after the trauma, their client was not immediately able to process what happened and that the investigation did not go deep enough.

In the U.S. legal system, a grand jury reviews evidence and witnesses presented by prosecutors to decide whether there is enough basis for criminal charges. Van Houten also acknowledged that it can sometimes take sexual assault survivors years to fully make sense of and describe what happened.

What sanctions did Cornell University say it imposed?

Cornell University said it supports bringing the case before a grand jury, while rejecting claims that no meaningful sanctions were imposed on those connected to the incident. The university said a panel made up of trained faculty and staff handled the matter, and that penalties included expulsion and suspension.

  • The local chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity was suspended,
  • Disciplinary proceedings were opened against some students,
  • An internal investigation and a civil rights review were launched under Title IX.

The university also said claims that the people named in the case were merely ordered to write a composition were untrue. An attorney for one of the men named in the suit said his client had only made an immature comment on Snapchat, did not take part in any sexual act and did not use ketamine, rejecting the accusations. The civil suit and the reopening of the investigation have drawn wide attention across the United States.

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