{"id":6670,"date":"2026-10-02T17:57:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T17:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6670"},"modified":"2026-10-02T17:57:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T17:57:33","slug":"i-want-the-truth-ny-governor-appoints-prosecutor-in-cornell-rape-case-sexual-assault-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6670","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I want the truth\u2019: NY governor appoints prosecutor in Cornell rape case | Sexual Assault News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 43 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>


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New York Governor Kathy Hochul says local authorities failed to properly investigate the 2024 allegations.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James<\/a> as a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang rape at Cornell University, saying newly released information had undermined her confidence in the local prosecutor\u2019s handling of the case.<\/p>\n

In a news conference on Friday, Hochul said that the woman who reported the alleged assault had been failed by institutions responsible for protecting her, including Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County district attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn what world does the district attorney not even interview her, or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?\u201d Hochul asked at the news conference. \u201cAnd I want the truth. I think every parent in this state, every New Yorker wants the truth in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hochul signed an executive order on Thursday requiring the attorney general to investigate the alleged October 2024 assault. If warranted, evidence will be presented to a grand jury and the case prosecuted.<\/p>\n

The order states the Tompkins County district attorney declined to prosecute the case in November 2024 without speaking to the woman and relied, at least in part, on information from a Cornell police statement that omitted her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted.<\/p>\n

The appointment of James means the state attorney general\u2019s office, rather than the county district attorney, will now control the criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

\"ITHACA,
The New York state attorney general has announced a review of the university\u2019s initial response to allegations by a former Cornell student that she was raped at a campus fraternity in 2024 [File: Spencer Platt\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scrutiny of the 2024 investigation<\/h2>\n

Prosecutors initially closed the case without criminal charges in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation on Monday, after the woman filed a civil lawsuit accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexually assaulting her.<\/p>\n

Van Houten has defended his original decision, saying in a September 28 statement that prosecutors reviewed a six-page sworn statement the woman gave Cornell police in November 2024. He said the statement did not allege that she had been drugged against her will, and described her participation in sexual conduct as voluntary and consensual. He said multiple prosecutors and investigators reviewed the statement and concluded that, as presented, the facts did not establish a crime under New York law.<\/p>\n

The governor, however, said the full account given to police was not conveyed to prosecutors. She cited reports that the woman told investigators she was \u201c100% confident\u201d she had been raped.<\/p>\n

Cornell has said its police department provided prosecutors with the evidence it had gathered, including a Snapchat screenshot, and that the university separately investigated the allegations through its disciplinary process. Cornell said sanctions imposed after that process included expulsions and suspensions.<\/p>\n

Cornell has also said it is conducting an independent review of how it handled the allegations.<\/p>\n