A new criminal investigation is underway into allegations that a Cornell University student was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members, just days after she said the trauma has left her struggling to sleep.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said prosecutors plan to present the case to a grand jury as they revisit allegations surrounding an October 2024 incident at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house.
The renewed scrutiny follows a civil lawsuit filed this month by the former student, identified as Jane Doe, who alleges that seven Cornell students participated in an hours-long sexual assault.
It also comes after the Daily Mail interviewed Doe’s attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, who said his client continues to struggle with the effects of the alleged attack nearly two years later.
‘She is basically stalled, and her life is devoted to dealing with the trauma,’ Giuffra told the Daily Mail. ‘It’s like a constant, constant reminder.’
In a sworn statement, Doe said she has experienced anxiety, depression and persistent sleeplessness. She also said she stopped attending Cornell after the alleged assault.
Prosecutors are now taking a fresh look at whether the allegations warrant criminal charges.
‘It’s our intention to present the case to the Tompkins County grand jury with Jane Doe’s cooperation,’ Van Houten told ABC News.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has reopened the investigation and said prosecutors intend to take the case to a grand jury
The revived investigation focuses on allegations that a Cornell University student was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members in October 2024. The Cornell campus is pictured
‘We want to reexamine whether there’s additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024, that exists now that would change our assessment of the case and would result in the grand jury finding that there was criminal conduct.’
However, Van Houten emphasized that the allegations in Doe’s recent civil complaint are ‘dramatically different’ from the account authorities say she initially provided to police.
The district attorney said prosecutors did not file charges in 2024 because Doe’s original statement did not claim that she had been unknowingly drugged or engaged in sexual activity without her consent.
‘She never says that she was drugged without her knowledge,’ he said. ‘She admits to taking drugs and alcohol voluntarily and with knowledge.’
‘She does not allege that she was forced to engage in any acts. She does not say that she was physically helpless or unconscious or incapacitated at any point during the time at the fraternity house.’
Giuffra strongly disputes that account and has criticized what he described as shortcomings in the initial investigation.
‘In my experience, speaking with an abuse survivor requires delicacy, understanding and specialized training,’ he told ABC News.
‘An average University Police officer would not have these skills. It would be the role of a specially trained detective or district attorney. However, Ms. Doe was never contacted by anybody with those skills.’
Doe alleges the incident occurred at the Chi Phi house, above, late on October 19, 2024. The fraternity remains suspended from Cornell’s campus
According to the court filing, one of the men allegedly posted in the fraternity’s active-members Snapchat group that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe. The filing included an image of the purported chat
Van Houten acknowledged his office relied upon Cornell University Police’s investigation and did not ‘independently investigate’ the allegations, which he said was consistent with practices in many upstate New York counties.
Another potentially crucial point of contention is a Snapchat group conversation described in Doe’s lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that during the purported assault, one fraternity member posted to a ‘Chi Phi Actives’ group that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe.
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‘Like you can walk in and whip it out,’ another member allegedly responded, according to a screenshot described in the filing.
Van Houten told ABC News that the group chat was never provided to his office although Giuffra insists authorities had access to it.
‘They were given the group chat inviting the members of the fraternity to rape my client,’ he said, describing it as ‘a critical piece of evidence supporting that a crime had occurred.’
‘Despite this there was no follow-up with Ms. Doe either by the Cornell Police or the Tompkins County District Attorney.’
The lawsuit alleges Doe, then 20, arrived at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, already heavily intoxicated following a night of drinking in Ithaca.
The seven men were not criminally charged following the original investigation, but prosecutors are now reexamining the case to determine whether new evidence warrants charges
She alleges she was pressured to take ketamine and given marijuana and high-proof alcohol before being repeatedly sexually assaulted as additional fraternity members entered the room.
The complaint alleges seven men eventually participated and that Doe became ‘completely incapacitated.’ She says the ordeal continued until around 5:45am, when she lost consciousness.
Doe reported the allegations to Cornell University Police on November 8 after friends encouraged her to come forward, according to the lawsuit.
Cornell temporarily suspended the fraternity and seven students that day.
The university said this month that it takes allegations of sexual violence ‘extremely seriously’ and that its civil rights and student conduct offices ‘investigated and adjudicated the allegations consistent with university policies.’
Federal privacy laws prevent Cornell from revealing individual disciplinary outcomes, it said, while the Xi chapter of Chi Phi remains barred from campus.
The defendants have not all publicly responded to the allegations, but at least two have denied wrongdoing.
Jeremy Saland, an attorney for defendant Scott Kretzschmar, said the alleged incident ‘did not happen.’
‘At bottom, Scott never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way. Period,’ Saland said.
Doe ultimately left Cornell and says she continues to struggle with anxiety, depression and sleepless nights nearly two years after the alleged attack
‘We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.’
Defendant Scott Norris separately denied participating in sexual activity or drug use, while acknowledging sending one message cited in the complaint.
‘I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use,’ Norris said. ‘I thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat and briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it happened.’
For Doe, her attorney says the consequences have stretched far beyond the night at the center of the lawsuit.
‘And now she’s dropped out of Cornell. She’s dropped out of college,’ Giuffra previously told the Daily Mail.
‘You could give her all the money in the world; nobody wants to have this as their story. Nobody wants to have this in their lives.’