Shocking Failures: How Cornell's 'Rape Case' Was Mishandled
See more of our coverage in your search results.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul raged Friday that the Cornell University student who was allegedly gang raped by fraternity members was “failed at every turn” — as she kicked the local district attorney off the case and put state Attorney General Letitia James in charge of the investigation.
Hochul could not hide her anger at learning the accuser told investigators from the off that she was “100%” confident she’d been raped — but “shockingly” those words never made it into the police report sent to prosecutors, who then dropped the case.
“This young woman had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable,” Hochul told reporters at a press conference in Manhattan on Friday. “And then at every turn she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.”
Hochul directed James to take over the criminal investigation by executive order this week after news of the stomach-churning rape allegations shook the nation and raised questions about how school and local officials handled the case.
The governor said she lost confidence in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s investigation after new reporting revealed discrepancies in what the DA said the survivor originally reported to campus police.
Van Houten said he decided against prosecuting the case in 2024 because the student’s sworn statement to Cornell University police, while disturbing, did not accuse the male students of rape.
However, a transcript of Doe’s conversation with Cornell campus police and Title IX revealed this week that she had told them. “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
“Yet shockingly. Those words never made it into the account; those words never made it to the account that the Cornell police set to prosecutors,” Hochul said.
Van Houten has claimed he never received the full transcript, only a six-page summary statement from police.
The new revelations raise “serious questions about the information [Van Houten’s] office relied upon when it made that decision,” Hochul added.
The governor didn’t hold back punches in blasting the Cornell police department for not supplying all its evidence to the DA’s office, and for the DA deciding not to interview the victim, anyone else involved or even request a full transcript.
Here’s the latest on the ‘Cornell 7’ frat probe:
- Alleged ‘Cornell 7’ gang rape victim said frat members joked about having ‘eightsome’ with her: ‘My reputation is destroyed’
- Cornell accuser told cops: ‘With 100% confidence I was raped,’ bombshell transcript reveals
- ‘Cornell 7’ case casts spotlight on NY’s ‘voluntary intoxication’ loophole — which doesn’t protect rape victims who drink, take drugs on their own
- Grim new details revealed in Cornell student’s account of alleged gang rape: ‘Instantly horrified’
“No institution gets to protect its reputation at the expense of a young person seeking justice. No public official gets to look the other way when the system breaks down and fails our young people. And as governor, I will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug,” she declared.
Cornell University Police previously told The Post “all investigatory information” from Doe’s case had been shared with the DA’s office in 2024, but didn’t specify if that included the transcript.
The case made national headlines after the Cornell student, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court last month accusing seven fraternity brothers of raping her at the Cornell’s Phi Chi fraternity house in October 2024.
The 101-page lawsuit alleges the men plied her with alcohol and ketamine and subjecting her to an hours-long sexual assault.
While she was being assaulted, one of the men allegedly sent a message to a 50-person fraternity Snapchat group called “Chi Phi Actives,” declaring there was “free p–sy” in the house.
Doe slammed Cornell’s internal Title IX investigation process, which involved 12 hearings, and claimed her alleged attackers only got a slap on the wrist — with just two of the seven expelled from the university, the lawsuit claims.
The Ivy League school denied Doe’s claims and said the university acted in accordance with police and banned the Chi Phi frat chapter from campus.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673).
