Hochul Appoints Attorney General James as Special Prosecutor in Cornell Gang-Rape Case

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she is appointing state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang-rape at Cornell University in 2024. Hochul said in a statement that the young woman at the center of the case deserves to know every fact will be examined and justice pursued, adding that the move ensures an independent investigation free of conflict or bias.

The governor said her confidence in the local district attorney's ability to handle the case had been undermined by Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten's earlier decision not to prosecute, as well as recent questions about how Cornell University's police department investigated the allegations. James will oversee the probe and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in September by a former Cornell student who alleges she was gang-raped at a fraternity in 2024. The lawsuit has sparked national outrage, unsettled the Ivy League campus, and raised questions about why no criminal charges were ever filed.

Van Houten initially declined to bring charges but said this week he would reopen the investigation in light of new information contained in the woman's lawsuit, in which she is identified only by the pseudonym Jane Doe. He has maintained that her initial statement to police did not include claims that she was drugged or incapacitated beyond the ability to consent. After CBS News reported details from the police interview transcript this week, he said he had never seen her full account and had instead relied on a statement drafted by a campus police officer and signed by the accuser.

The woman is suing seven men she says carried out the assault, along with the university, the fraternity, and other parties. Lawyers for two of the accused men have denied the allegations, with one saying his client never touched the woman or used any drugs.

Cornell has said it suspended the Chi Phi fraternity indefinitely and disciplined or expelled some students involved, though it has declined to release further details, citing student privacy rules. Under mounting public and political pressure, including from Hochul, the private university agreed on Wednesday to hire outside lawyers to independently review how it handled the woman's allegations.