Prosecutor reopens probe into Cornell gang rape allegations after
accuser files lawsuit
[September 29, 2026]
By DAVE COLLINS and JOHN SEEWER
A New York prosecutor has reopened an investigation into gang rape
allegations at a Cornell University fraternity in response to a lawsuit
filed by a woman who says she was sexually assaulted in 2024 by seven
students after being plied with alcohol and drugs.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that
his office will present evidence to a grand jury as he faces questions
from the public about why there were no criminal prosecutions in the
case.
The woman, identified only by a pseudonym in the lawsuit, filed the
complaint Sept. 16, saying she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi
fraternity house on the Ivy League campus in October 2024 after being
pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and drinking
alcohol. She became completely incapacitated while frat members were
sexually assaulting her, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, the reopening of the investigation and Cornell’s response
have sparked a flood of commentary on social media. Many people have
criticized the school and the district attorney’s office in their posts,
while some have expressed doubt about the lawsuit’s allegations. Some
posted photos of the seven fraternity members.
The accuser is suing the men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, an
Ithaca bar and others, seeking undisclosed damages. Her attorney did not
immediately respond Monday to messages seeking comment on the
prosecutor’s decision.
The woman went to campus police at the time, but Van Houten said the
accuser did not make any claims of being gang-raped or drugged in her
initial sworn statement to authorities. The prosecutor also said he was
never contacted by the woman's attorney about her statement or about
reconsidering the decision not to prosecute, but he reached out to the
attorney recently.
“Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases
when we are provided with additional evidence,” Van Houten said in a
statement. “I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision
whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members.
I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with
Jane Doe and her attorneys.”
Cornell responds to criticism about its handling of the allegations
The university said in a statement that it supports the decision to
reopen the investigation. The school said it conducted its own
investigation and issued sanctions, including expelling some students
and suspending others. It also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was
closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
School officials on Monday declined to release more information on the
sanctions, including how many students were expelled and suspended.
Cornell said last week that federal privacy law barred it from
disclosing specific information on individual students.
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential
punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A
continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences
in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and
supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
The national chapter of Chi Phi did not return phone and email messages
Monday.
The school said it conducted an internal disciplinary investigation in
2024. It said a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over
multiple days, and both the woman and the people accused had the
opportunity to testify and present evidence.
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The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.,
Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
Lawsuit alleges student was sexually assaulted during a night of
celebrating
The woman's complaint accuses the university of not preventing the
alleged assaults and failing to properly address sexual violence on
campus. It includes a photo that it says shows a group chat between
frat members discussing the night's events.
The woman, who was a 20-year-old Cornell student at the time and a
sorority member, went to campus police about three weeks later,
according to the lawsuit. The fraternity and seven of its members
were placed on temporary suspension that same day, the lawsuit said.
The complaint said the seven were given “the opportunity to mitigate
their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell."
Cornell said “none of the individuals charged were offered the
opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their
involvement," noting the expulsions and suspensions.
Over the weekend, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
condemned what she called a “culture of rape” that is protected at
elite institutions.
“When I read what happened at Cornell, those men posted in a group
chat. That means it was normal to them. That means it was acceptable
to them. This is a culture,” she said Sunday at a forum packed with
young people near Cornell’s campus.
“And what we must do is understand that we cannot protect those
spaces any more.”
School says it has taken additional action to address sexual
violence
Cornell said a school task force on campus sexual assault, formed in
2025, made recommendations earlier this year, several of which have
been implemented while others are in development.
The task force report said a 2025 school survey showed 35% of
undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reported
experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell.
Since the lawsuit was filed, the prosecutor said, his office has
been flooded with phone calls, voicemails and emails about the case
from people seeking answers and others making insults and threats.
“The community outrage stemming from the incomplete news and social
media coverage requires that I provide an answer to why the
investigation resulted in a lack of criminal charges,” Van Houten
said in a statement.
Eeshaan Chaudhuri, a Cornell senior and president of the student
government, said there needs to be a fresh look at the university’s
initial investigation and why the district attorney's office did not
do more.
There also needs to be an examination of the culture at the
fraternity, he said.
“This issue poses more of a broader question, not just at Cornell,”
he said. “Obviously, these things can’t be fixed overnight.”
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