The woman at the centre of a 2024 gang-rape allegation at Cornell University was “misled” by campus police into believing a criminal investigation remained active while internal disciplinary proceedings unfolded, according to her lawyer, Thomas Giuffra.
Conflicting Timelines and Dropped Inquiries
The criminal inquiry into the alleged assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house ended almost as soon as it began. Tompkins County district attorney Matthew Van Houten decided against pursuing a criminal case after prosecutors and criminal investigators from his office reviewed a six-page summary of the woman’s account, written by a police officer.
Giuffra told The Associated Press that campus police gave the impression that the criminal investigation was continuing. “I think she was misled,” Giuffra said, adding that he assumed investigators simply needed more time to build a case. “But nothing was being done, and we didn’t know that.”
Van Houten stated he was confident no further investigation was necessary after reviewing the six-page police summary of the woman’s account. That assessment contradicts the civil lawsuit filed on Sept. 16, in which Jane Doe alleges she was drugged and assaulted over several hours by seven men, now dubbed ‘the Cornell 7’.
Escalating Fallout and Political Intervention
The case gained national attention after the lawsuit was filed, triggering widespread protests, student sit-ins, and alumni threats to pull funding. Student trust in the university administration is “really low,” Cornell senior Madeline Gage told CNN. Faculty members at Cornell have also moved toward a no-confidence vote, while safety concerns have intensified following severe threats directed at both the victim and her lawyer.
Legal challenges to the special prosecutor’s appointment emerged swiftly. Attorneys representing one of the accused Cornell students filed a motion in New York State Supreme Court asking to void Gov. Hochul’s appointment.
Sally Yates Reviews Cornell Disciplinary Processes
Cornell closed the Chi Phi campus chapter in 2024 and took disciplinary action against several students following an internal investigation under the federal Title IX law. However, the perceived leniency of those penalties—which included writing papers for some of the accused—sparked outrage among students and faculty alike.
To address the institutional crisis, Cornell trustees brought in former U.S. deputy attorney general Sally Yates to review how the school investigates sexual assault and sexual harassment, how the disciplinary process works, the campus police response and more.
