Timeline of Cornell Fraternity Gang Rape Allegations and Investigation

A 101-page civil complaint filed on September 16, 2024, by a former Cornell University student identified as Jane Doe alleges that she was drugged and gang-raped by members of the Chi Phi fraternity. The lawsuit has prompted the reopening of an investigation and a special prosecutor appointment by New York Attorney General Letitia James after Governor Kathy Hochul lost faith in the county district attorney’s handling of the case, cnn.com reported.

The case centers on events from October 19, 2024, when the 18-year-old freshman pledged the Alpha Beta chapter of Delta Delta Delta and lived in the sorority house on the Ithaca, New York campus. According to court filings cited by cnn.com, Doe drank vodka at her sorority house before taking an Uber to an Ithaca bar at around 8:30 p.m. accompanied by the sorority’s house mother.

The Night at Chi Phi Fraternity House

After receiving an under-21 wristband at a second bar, Doe left alone around 11 p.m. and walked to the Chi Phi fraternity house to see a friend named as a defendant in the lawsuit, cnn.com reported. The complaint states she had consumed about 10 standard drinks within three hours and was visibly intoxicated. Her friend gave her a beer, danced with her, and proposed a threesome in another room.

Inside that room, two fraternity members allegedly pressured Doe into snorting ketamine and provided additional alcohol before sexually assaulting her while she was incapable of consent, according to cnn.com. Doe stated in a six-page police statement that she felt her intoxication level reached an 8 out of 10, the highest in her life. A third fraternity member later entered the room and assaulted her without consent.

At 1:42 a.m. on October 20, 2024, one of the men posted in the fraternity’s Chi Phi Actives Snapchat group that there was free p*ssy upstairs to encourage members to join, cnn.com reported. Multiple additional fraternity members subsequently entered the room, pressured her into taking more ketamine, and subjected her to an hours-long assault.

Matthew Van Houten Defends Decision Not to Charge

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten faced intense public backlash and questioning from CNN anchor Jake Tapper for not bringing criminal charges against the men after the incident was reported to the Cornell University Police Department, according to aol.com. Van Houten defended his office’s inaction by stating he is constrained by New York State law, asserting that Doe’s initial police statement did not legally establish physical compulsion, physical helplessness, or mental incapacitation through unknowingly administered drugs.

Tapper grilled Van Houten on aol.com over why the district attorney did not independently investigate or interview witnesses based on the Snapchat messages, to which Van Houten responded that his office relies on police investigations and that grand jury presentation remains open if Doe remembers additional details. Public outrage culminated in a public hearing in Ithaca, New York, where community members voiced anger over the university and local authorities’ handling of the allegations, edition.cnn.com reported.

Letitia James Takes over Inquiry as Special Prosecutor

Following the public backlash and criticism of local handling, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated she lost faith in the district attorney’s oversight, prompting New York Attorney General Letitia James to take over the inquiry as a special prosecutor, cnn.com reported. The civil lawsuit continues to move forward alongside the reopened criminal review, casting a harsh spotlight on campus sexual assault protocols and Greek life accountability at Ivy League institutions.

“My job under the New York State Constitution is to apply the penal law of New York State. We are constrained by that law. Whether you agree with it, whether you think someone’s conduct is morally repugnant or vulgar or disgusting. I’m still constrained by the law.”

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten