NEW YORK (WABC) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the Cornell rape accuser was failed by the people responsible for protecting her, including police and prosecutors.
Visibly outraged, Hochul criticized Cornell University Police, the Tompkins County district attorney and New York’s rape laws before announcing that Attorney General Letitia James would serve as special prosecutor in the controversial case.
At a packed news conference in the governor’s office, James said the matter is now “an active criminal investigation.” She promised that the allegations would receive a full and fair review.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly, that they will be seen and heard,” James said. “That is the promise of our justice system.”
Hochul said the system failed Jane Doe. She said information from the woman’s police interview was not provided to the district attorney, who subsequently did not interview her.
“I am deeply disturbed by Cornell University’s police and how they handled this,” Hochul said. She described the decision to send prosecutors only a “partial record” as a failure.
Hochul questioned how police could learn from the alleged victim that she had been “literally been gang raped” and that she was “100%” certain she had been raped, yet fail to elevate those allegations.
She also accused the Tompkins County district attorney of failing to do the “bare minimum” by interviewing the woman after receiving the six-page police report.
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“In what world does the district attorney not interview her or even request the full transcript?” Hochul asked. “That is exactly why we’re here today and why I took the action last night.”
Tompkins County District Attorney Matt Van Houten told ABC News that the six-page summary prepared by Cornell University Police had convinced him that no crime occurred.
Hochul also called for changes to New York’s law governing voluntary intoxication in sexual assault cases, saying lawmakers should address that provision as soon as possible.
Jane Doe’s attorney said he and his client were “pleased” by the governor’s appointment of a special prosecutor, citing “shocking” contradictions between statements from the district attorney and Cornell police.
Van Houten said Friday that he supports the governor’s decision to remove him from the case and pledged to cooperate with the attorney general’s investigation.
Cornell University also supported Hochul’s decision to remove the district attorney from the case and assign it to James.
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