Hochul names Letitia James special prosecutor in Cornell rape case
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed the office of state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into a woman’s allegation that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house. Hochul said she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.
The investigation had initially been closed without charges in 2024, but the allegation drew fresh attention after the woman filed a civil lawsuit last month. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation on Monday, but has faced sharp criticism over claims that the original inquiry was dropped too quickly.
In a statement on Thursday, Hochul said: "Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024." She added, "This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time." Hochul said the attorney general would oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury. "The young woman at the centre of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued," she said. "This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigour that this matter demands." Messages left for Van Houten were not immediately returned late on Thursday.
The case has shaken the Ivy League campus and raised wider questions about how sexual assault allegations are handled on college campuses. The woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, reported the alleged assault to campus police in November 2024 and later spoke to the university’s internal investigators as part of Cornell’s disciplinary process. Her lawsuit against seven fraternity brothers, the university, the Chi Phi fraternity and others alleges that she was given drugs and alcohol and was then subjected to sex acts by a group of men while she was partially or entirely incapacitated. According to the lawsuit, one of the men sent a social media message to other fraternity members alerting them to what was happening and inviting people to take part. Lawyers for two of the men being sued have denied that they took part in a sexual assault, with one saying his client had not touched the woman. Attempts to reach the other men or their representatives were unsuccessful.
When he reopened the investigation earlier this week, Van Houten said he would review new information contained in the woman’s lawsuit. He also defended his earlier decision not to prosecute, saying the woman’s first account to police did not include claims that she had been drugged against her will, was incapacitated beyond the ability to consent, or was forced into sex. Under pressure from the public and politicians, including Hochul, Cornell said on Wednesday that it would bring in outside lawyers to independently examine how it handled the woman’s allegations.
Hours before Hochul’s announcement, dozens of students and community members demanded transparency and accountability from university leaders at a forum organised by Cornell’s student government. Over more than two and a half hours, speakers expressed anger, frustration and grief over the school’s handling of sexual assault allegations, and several shared their own experiences. Many criticised Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff and the administration, and called for stronger prevention measures, greater accountability in the handling of the case and changes to Greek life. Jane Wang, a sophomore, said that when she reported being sexually assaulted on campus a year ago, she was met with extensive paperwork and little guidance or follow-up. After an initial email chain about starting the investigation, she said, she received few updates and had to keep asking for answers, leaving her with an "overall sense of helplessness within a broader institution". "My main message for Cornell here is that we can’t be treating these cases only with care and attention after it catches national news," Wang said, calling for the university to improve the "seriousness and timeliness" of its response to sexual assault allegations. The university did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment late on Thursday.
The case has now moved to a fresh stage, with the state attorney general’s office set to oversee the investigation, Cornell facing an outside review of its handling of the allegation, and students and community members continuing to press for answers and change.
