Cornell alleged gang rape case gets special prosecutor

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang rape at Cornell University and, if warranted, prosecute offenses and present evidence to a grand jury.

Hochul said Thursday that new information had raised serious questions about how Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten handled the case and that she had lost faith in his ability to oversee it fairly.

The alleged victim said in a civil lawsuit filed in September that she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped in 2024 by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity. Van Houten has said his office did not prosecute in 2024 because the victim's testimony did not establish a lack of consent, but said this week that he planned to file criminal charges against the seven men.

James said she was ready to lead a process guided by the facts and the law. Cornell closed the fraternity and temporarily suspended the students involved after the incident; several were later expelled.