New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened an active criminal investigation into seven Cornell University fraternity brothers accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Chi Phi house after the local DA declined charges.
James announced the move at a press conference Friday, saying her office will review the facts, gather evidence, and interview witnesses in the case that has roiled the Ithaca campus. Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Thursday appointing the attorney general to oversee the matter after Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to prosecute.
The allegations center on an October 19, 2024, incident at the Chi Phi fraternity house involving a woman identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, then 20. She later filed a civil lawsuit on September 16 claiming she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by seven fraternity brothers after arriving already heavily intoxicated from a night of drinking in Ithaca.
According to the complaint summarized in reporting, Doe alleges she was pressured to take ketamine and was given marijuana and high-proof alcohol before the assault. She claims additional members entered the room as the attack continued, that she became completely incapacitated, and that the ordeal lasted until around 5:45 a.m., when she lost consciousness.
The Daily Mail reported that James framed the work in plain terms.
"We will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions. I know that you want answers. I do too."
James added that a comprehensive investigation of this nature takes time, but her office is committed to seeing it through. "This is now an active criminal investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General."
Van Houten had declined to bring charges based on the contents of a signed 2024 statement from the alleged victim. On Tuesday he told CBS News he had never before seen a newly released transcript of Jane Doe’s interview with a Cornell campus police investigator.
In that transcript, Doe told the investigator she was “100 percent” confident she was assaulted. She also described heavy drinking, drug use, and gaps in her memory. She distinguished what she said was initial sexual activity from what she claimed happened later, saying she did not remember the end of the night “where I was raped” and did not know exactly how many people had sex with her.
One exchange captured in the reporting shows the complexity of her account to campus police:
"Yeah, as much as I can be, because again, I was super drunk when I got there... But I was pretty OK with all of this."
She also said, “And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time,” and later stated, “I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped.”
Van Houten has said the earlier decision rested on the signed statement. He now supports the attorney general’s appointment.
"I support the appointment of Attorney General James, and I trust that she will examine the facts and apply the law."
He went further on the university’s role: “It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the University. The focus has been and should continue to be on the victims. My office will cooperate fully with the Attorney General.”
The civil complaint describes purported messages from a Chi Phi active-members Snapchat group. One post allegedly said there was “free p***y” upstairs, referring to Doe. Another member allegedly replied, “Like you can walk in and whip it out.” An image of the purported chat is said to be included in the filing.
Those messages remain allegations in a lawsuit. They have not been adjudicated in a criminal court. At least two of the seven accused fraternity brothers have denied wrongdoing. The others have not all publicly responded, and their full legal names were not laid out in the reporting.
No arrests or charges from the attorney general’s office have been announced. James has said prosecutions will follow only if warranted.
Hochul announced the executive order Thursday but declined to demand resignations. Asked about Van Houten and the Cornell president, she said she would not draw conclusions yet.
"I don't have enough information at this time. Again, this is very early in the questioning. I'm not going to draw conclusions until I have the full picture."
James separately made clear her probe is not aimed at the district attorney’s earlier call. “Our investigation is a criminal investigation based upon all of the facts. And so, at this point in time, we will not be focusing on the actions of the district attorney.”
The sequence is now public: alleged assault in October 2024, a police report and campus interview that same period, a DA decision not to charge based on a signed statement, a September civil suit, a transcript the DA says he had not seen, a governor’s order, and an attorney general criminal investigation.
Key gaps remain. The full names of all seven accused men have not been listed in the available reporting. Exact calendar dates for Hochul’s order and James’s announcement were given only as Thursday and Friday. The court and docket number for the Jane Doe suit were not specified. The complete campus police transcript, the full signed 2024 statement, and the unedited Snapchat exhibits have not been laid out end to end for the public.
Cornell University’s detailed institutional response beyond the district attorney’s claim that his office was not given the full picture also remains thin in the public record so far. The attorney general’s office has not announced charging decisions. The civil claims and the criminal investigation are separate tracks. Allegations are not convictions.
For taxpayers and parents watching elite campuses, the basic test is simple. Serious sexual assault claims deserve a complete factual record, timely decisions, and equal application of the law, without universities filtering what local prosecutors see, and without political theater substituting for evidence. James now has the case. The facts, not the headlines, will have to carry it.
