New York Governor Says Cornell Rape Inquiry Victim Failed by Officials

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Friday that the woman at the center of an alleged gang rape at Cornell University was failed "at every turn" by people and institutions obligated to protect her, including police and the county prosecutor. Hochul made the remarks at a news conference alongside Attorney General Letitia James, whom she appointed Thursday as a special prosecutor to take over the investigation.

The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, alleges she was drugged and raped by several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024, when she was 20 years old. The original investigation was closed without charges. Doe filed a civil lawsuit last month naming seven fraternity members, the university, the fraternity and others as defendants, which brought the case back into the national spotlight.

Hochul said she lost faith in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten after learning that his office closed the case without interviewing Doe or anyone else involved, and without requesting the full transcript of her statement to Cornell police. "In what world does the district attorney not even interview her, or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?" Hochul asked. "This woman, this young woman, had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable. And then at every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her."

The governor also criticized the Cornell University Police Department for not fully conveying Doe's account to prosecutors. She cited new reports that Doe told campus police she was "100% confident" she was raped, but that those words never made it into the account sent to the district attorney's office.

Van Houten has defended his decision not to file charges, saying the sworn statement provided by Doe to campus police did not allege she was drugged against her will or gang raped. He said his office was not given the full picture by the university and that much of the information released in recent weeks was not passed to him. He said he supports James' appointment.

Hochul vowed to close what she called a loophole in state law that makes it difficult to bring sexual assault charges when the victim voluntarily consumed drugs or alcohol. "Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period," she said. "I support closing this loophole, and will work with the New York state Legislature to accomplish this."

James said her office will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions. "I stand ready to lead a process guided by the facts and the law," she said. She declined to comment on whether her earlier public support for Doe on social media raises impartiality concerns, but Hochul said she has "every confidence" in the attorney general.

Cornell University said it fully supports the appointment of a special prosecutor and efforts to change the state's rape law, and is committed to an independent external review of its handling of the case. The university has suspended the Chi Phi fraternity indefinitely and agreed to bring in outside lawyers to investigate its own response.

Hochul stopped short of calling for the resignations of Cornell's president or the local prosecutor, saying she does not have enough information at this time. She said university President Michael Kotlikoff was receptive to an outside counsel investigating how Cornell handled the case.