Cornell rape accuser was ‘failed’ by people obligated to protect her, NY governor says

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the woman who accused members of a Cornell University fraternity of gang rape was “failed” by those obligated to protect her, including police and the local prosecutor. Her comment came during a briefing in which she explained her decision to transfer the lawsuit to a special prosecutor, New York Attorney General Letitia James. Hochul said she made the move after learning “troubling details” about how authorities have handled the woman’s claims so far, including that the county lawyer closed the case without interviewing the victim or anyone else connected to the alleged assault. “In what satellite does the territory lawyer not adjacent interrogation her, oregon anyone other involved, oregon adjacent petition the afloat transcript?” Hochul said. “This woman, this young woman, had already endured thing that is utterly unspeakable. And past astatine each turn, she was failed by radical and institutions with an work to support her.” She also criticized the Cornell University Police Department for not fully conveying the woman’s account to prosecutors. “After this young pistillate came forward, she spoke to the police. She sat for hours and told them precisely what happened to her. And according to caller reports, she could not person been clearer that she was 100% assured that she had been raped.” Yet, shockingly, those words ne'er made it into the relationship that the Cornell constabulary sent to prosecutors. Hochul said Thursday that she appointed James to oversee the case because she had lost confidence in the county district attorney’s ability to manage it. The investigation was initially closed without charges in 2024. Last month, the woman filed a lawsuit and Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the probe. He has since faced criticism that he abandoned the original investigation too quickly. James will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury, Hochul said. “The young pistillate at the halfway of this lawsuit deserves to cognize that each information volition be examined and justness pursued,” she said in a connection Thursday. Van Houten did not immediately respond to Thursday messages seeking comment. The case has roiled the Ivy League campus and raised questions about its response and the broader issue of how sexual assaults are handled on college grounds. The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, told university police in November 2024 that she was sexually assaulted, then discussed it with the university’s internal investigators as part of Cornell’s disciplinary process. The suit against seven fraternity brothers, the university, the Chi Phi fraternity and others alleges that she was plied with drugs and alcohol, then subjected to sexual acts by a group of men while she was partially or wholly incapacitated. One of the men sent a social‑media message to other fraternity members alerting them to what was happening and inviting them to take part, according to the lawsuit. Lawyers for two of the men she is suing have denied they participated in a sexual assault. One said his client had no contact with the woman. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful. New York governors have previously turned to attorneys general to oversee significant matters. In 2018, then‑Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed then‑Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas as a special counsel to examine Eric Schneiderman, who resigned as New York attorney general after women accused him of violent slapping, choking and other abuse. In 2021, James led a non‑criminal probe into sexual harassment allegations against then‑Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which contributed to his resignation. Cuomo initially tried to select who would lead the probe into the allegations, then allowed James to choose two independent attorneys to head it instead. James’s office also handles other criminal matters and has the authority under state law to analyze every death involving law enforcement in the state. However, she typically cannot launch criminal investigations without a referral from a county district attorney, the governor, a state agency, or an assignment like the one Hochul issued Thursday.