New York prosecutors reopen investigation into Cornell gang rape claims

Tompkins County prosecutors announced Monday they are reopening a criminal investigation into seven Cornell students accused of drugging and raping a classmate at the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024, after a September lawsuit detailed the alleged assault and drew national attention, including from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a nine-page statement that the woman's original November 2024 sworn statement described the drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary and consensual, differing from the lawsuit's account, but stressed her credibility 'was never in question' and that new evidence warranted reopening the case. The case will go before a grand jury.

Cornell suspended the seven accused students and the fraternity chapter, expelling two, a response the university's Kyle Kimball defended as substantial while Ocasio-Cortez and the plaintiff's attorney called it inadequate. Attorney Thomas Giuffra said his client was never contacted by county investigators after her initial police report, calling that gap hard to reconcile with a thorough investigation.

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