Cornell fraternity case reopens after lawsuit alleges gang rape

A Tompkins County prosecutor has reopened a Cornell University fraternity case after a former student filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was drugged, assaulted and gang raped by seven current and former Chi Phi members, ABC7 Los Angeles reported, citing ABC News.

The case has drawn renewed scrutiny of Cornell’s handling of campus sexual misconduct allegations and prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to seek an outside review of the university’s campus culture and response.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported that ABC News reviewed the former student’s six-page statement to campus police, sworn Nov. 15, 2024. In that statement, Jane Doe said an encounter at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Oct. 19, 2024, "felt like coercion."

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten did not file charges in 2024. ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Van Houten has since reopened the case after the civil complaint alleged Doe was drugged, assaulted and subjected to a "gang rape."

Van Houten has described the allegations as "morally disturbing," according to ABC7 Los Angeles. He has also said the civil complaint is "dramatically different" from the statement Doe gave police in 2024.

The student’s police statement described heavy intoxication during the night. "I remember being totally disgusted at the situation, and I felt very tired and intoxicated. I would say that my level of overall intoxication was about a 8 out of 10 level of intoxicated. I would say that it was the most intoxicated I've ever been in my life. I felt like I was unable to make any decision because of how intoxicated I was," Doe said in the statement reviewed by ABC News.

Cornell said its offices investigated under Title IX policies through a months-long process that included hearings before trained faculty and staff, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. "At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell," the university said on its website.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus after the alleged incident, while attorneys for multiple fraternity brothers named as defendants have denied the complaint’s allegations.