Tompkins DA Reopens Cornell Rape Probe Against 7 Men, Sending Case to Grand Jury
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 28
Tompkins DA Reopens Cornell Rape Probe Against 7 Men, Sending Case to Grand Jury
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 28
Summary
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday he has reopened the 2024 Cornell rape case, begun pursuing charges against seven alleged perpetrators and plans to present it to a grand jury.
A Sept. 14 civil lawsuit triggered the renewed criminal review, alleging Jane Doe was gang-raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house while incapable of consent and drawing national attention to the case.
Van Houten said his office declined charges in November 2024 because Doe's sworn police statement then described the sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious and consensual, though he acknowledged trauma can delay how victims process assaults.
Cornell said the 2024 allegations were investigated under university policy and that the Xi chapter of Chi Phi remains banned from campus, while declining to detail any other discipline because of federal privacy laws.