Prosecutors in upstate New York are reopening the investigation into an alleged gang rape at a Cornell fraternity in 2024 and plan to present the case to a grand jury, nearly two years after deciding not to file charges.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said the move follows a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month by a former Cornell student, who accuses seven former and current members of the Chi Phi fraternity of drugging, assaulting and gang raping her. A grand jury is a panel of citizens who review evidence in private and decide whether criminal charges should be filed. Van Houten told ABC News his office intends to present the case with the woman’s cooperation and wants to find out whether evidence exists now that it did not have in November 2024.
According to the lawsuit, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, went to the Cornell fraternity house to visit a friend while intoxicated, and two members pressured her into taking ketamine before she was assaulted for hours. She reported it to Cornell police about three weeks later.
Van Houten said his office declined to bring charges in 2024 because her statement to police did not say she was drugged or that she did not consent. He described the allegations in the lawsuit as dramatically different from that original account. He also acknowledged that his office relied on the Cornell police investigation and did not investigate independently, which he said is standard practice in many upstate New York counties.
A group chat is now at the center of the dispute. The lawsuit includes messages in which Jane Doe says fraternity members discussed the alleged assault. Van Houten said those messages were never provided to his office. Her attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, says the chat was handed to authorities in 2024 and calls it a critical piece of evidence. Giuffra also disputes how the DA described her statement and says no one with specialized training in speaking with survivors ever followed up with her.
Cornell conducted its own investigation through its Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct. The Cornell fraternity remains barred from campus, and ABC reported that two of the seven men were expelled while the others received lighter discipline that included workshops and essays. Those punishments sparked widespread anger online, and actress Florence Pugh weighed in, writing that this is a human issue, not a women’s issue.
In a statement Monday, Cornell said it supports the DA’s decision to give the victim’s story a chance to be heard by a grand jury. The university previously said federal privacy law prevents it from discussing discipline for individual students.
Two of the men named in the lawsuit have responded. Jeremy Saland, the attorney for Scott Kretzschmar, said the incident did not happen and that his client never touched the woman, calling her claims selfishly false. Scott Norris denied taking part in any sexual activity or drug use. He acknowledged sending a message included in the complaint and said he briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened, but not while it was happening.
No one involved has been criminally charged. The grand jury will decide whether that changes.
