A woman, who has been identified only as Jane Doe in a lawsuit, has accused seven men of sexually assaulting her at a Cornell University fraternity house. According to a report by CBS New York, the lawsuit claims that Jane Doe was sexually assaulted after being coerced into using drugs and alcohol, which left her incapacitated during the incident. The assault took place on October 19, 2024, and she reported the incident approximately three weeks later to Cornell's campus police.
In a police interview that CBS was able to review, the woman expressed with certainty, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped." During this interview, she described her experience as coercive and asserted that she was "completely and totally incapacitated" prior to some of the abuse. The district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, indicated that the woman's initial report to police did not include claims of being drugged or forced into sex. However, he recently announced the reopening of the investigation after new information surfaced in her lawsuit, filed on September 16.
Following the incident, the woman returned to the police on November 14 and 15, 2024, to provide further details on her experience. She admitted to consuming alcohol and drugs on the night of the attack and acknowledged gaps in her memory concerning the events that transpired. The transcript indicates that she was initially comfortable with a sexual encounter with two of the men but was later subjected to violence as additional men entered the room. "And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time. Physically hit very, very hard," she relayed to investigators.
In the wake of Jane Doe's allegations, Cornell University has engaged outside lawyers to review how the university responded to her claims. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this decision. On November 8, 2024, Cornell first acknowledged the ongoing investigation regarding the sexual assault and alleged drug coercion, leading to the suspension of the Chi Phi fraternity on the same day.
While the district attorney has drawn attention to the original police report, stating that his office relied on a statement from a campus officer that the woman had signed, he admitted he never reviewed her interview transcript when deciding against pursuing charges. Instead, he defended the decision by claiming there was sufficient information in her comprehensive statement. "There were no question marks. There was no additional need to find information because we had all of the information that the police collected from Jane Doe through her very detailed, very comprehensive statement," Van Houten stated.
Despite the DA's decision not to proceed with prosecution, Cornell University publicly recognized the severity of the allegations, stating they were "deeply disturbing" and promising to address issues of sexual violence on campus. Following their own investigation, Cornell reported disciplinary actions against several students involved, though they have not provided additional details regarding specific punishments due to privacy regulations.
Earlier this week, Governor Hochul emphasized the need for reform, stating, "This culture has to stop. And in New York, we’re going to do everything we can to stop it." In light of her comments, the university agreed to the external investigation into the handling of the case, which underscores the growing scrutiny of campus responses to sexual assault allegations.
