NEW YORK, United States — New York Governor Kathy Hochul said a former Cornell University student who alleges she was raped by fraternity members was failed by authorities responsible for protecting her, as the governor moved the criminal investigation to the state attorney general and backed changes to New York’s sexual assault laws.
Hochul’s intervention follows renewed scrutiny of an October 2024 encounter at the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, where the woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, says she was drugged and sexually assaulted by several men.
On Friday, October 2, 2026, Hochul criticised how Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office handled the allegations, which initially closed the criminal investigation without filing charges.
The governor had announced a day earlier that Attorney General Letitia James would replace the local prosecutor as special prosecutor in the case.
The BBC reported that Hochul said the woman had been failed by institutions and officials who were supposed to protect her.
Attorney General Takes Over Investigation
Hochul signed an executive order giving James authority to investigate the allegations and, if the evidence warrants it, prosecute offences and present evidence to a grand jury.
“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” Hochul said in announcing the appointment.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time.”
James said her office would approach the investigation on the basis of the evidence and applicable law.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly,” she said.
“The Governor has entrusted my office with this investigation, and we do not take that responsibility lightly.”
No criminal charges have been filed against the men accused in the case.
Woman Told Police She Had Been Raped
The case returned to public attention after Doe filed a civil lawsuit in September against seven men who were members of the Chi Phi fraternity, as well as Cornell University, the fraternity, and other defendants.
She alleges that she was given alcohol and ketamine before being subjected to sexual acts while she was too impaired to consent.
Some of the men accused in the lawsuit have denied wrongdoing.
Cornell has said it conducted an extensive internal investigation, disciplined students, and closed the Chi Phi chapter.
Doe reported the incident to Cornell University Police in November 2024.
The criminal case was subsequently closed after Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten’s office determined that the information it had received did not provide a sufficient basis for prosecution.
But recently disclosed information raised questions about what prosecutors knew when they made that decision.
A transcript of Doe’s interview with campus police showed that she told an investigator: “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
Van Houten has said his office did not receive the full interview transcript and that the statement was not contained in a six-page document on which prosecutors had relied.
He reopened the investigation after Doe’s civil lawsuit and additional information brought renewed attention to the case.
Hochul subsequently removed his office from the investigation and placed James in charge.
Case Renews Debate Over New York Consent Law
The case has also revived a long-running dispute over how New York criminal law treats sexual activity involving people who are heavily intoxicated.
Under existing law, intoxication can establish that a person was “mentally incapacitated” and unable to consent in certain circumstances when the intoxicating substance was administered without that person’s agreement.
The law does not apply the same standard when someone voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs, a distinction that lawmakers and sexual assault advocates have sought to change.
New York colleges operate under a different standard for their own disciplinary proceedings.
State law requires colleges and universities to define affirmative consent as a knowing, voluntary, and mutual decision among participants and specifies that silence or the absence of resistance does not by itself constitute consent.
The distinction between the campus standard and the criminal code has become a central issue surrounding the Cornell case.
State lawmakers, including Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz and Senator Nathalia Fernandez, have supported legislation that would change the criminal-law standard so that the central question is whether a person was capable of consenting because of intoxication, rather than whether the alcohol or drugs were consumed voluntarily.
Previous efforts to enact such a change have stalled in the Legislature.
The New York State Assembly announced this week that it had formed a working group to examine the state’s sexual assault statutes and prepare recommendations for consideration during the 2027 legislative session.
Cornell Agrees to Outside Review
Cornell has separately agreed to an independent review of its handling of Doe’s allegations after Hochul called for an outside examination of the university’s response.
The university has said it investigated the allegations under its disciplinary system and imposed sanctions ranging from suspension to expulsion.
The national Chi Phi organisation has also said members connected to the case were expelled and that the Cornell chapter was closed.
The criminal investigation is now under James’s authority.
Her office said it would decide, based on the evidence, whether to pursue criminal charges.
The civil case filed by Doe remains separate from that investigation, and criminal court has not adjudicated the allegations against the men.
