Cornell University said it supports a decision by prosecutors to reopen a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual assault and rape at a campus fraternity, pushing back on criticism of how it handled the case.
The Ivy League school defended its handling of the allegations, which first surfaced two years ago, after Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a statement his office intends to present the case to a grand jury.
The reopening of the case follows a Sept. 14 lawsuit by the unidentified woman in New York state court alleging that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by members of the Chi Phi fraternity and that Cornell, the fraternity and her former sorority, Delta Delta Delta, failed to protect her.
The criminal probe was reopened after the plaintiff said in the civil complaint that she had been drugged and gang raped, according to the prosecutor’s statement. She had not made those allegations in 2024 and no criminal charges were brought at the time.
Cornell said in a statement that it supports giving the woman an opportunity to have her allegations heard by a grand jury. The university said it conducted a monthslong Title IX investigation.
The case is the latest to put a spotlight on sexual-assault claims at universities. Baylor University acknowledged in 2016 that it had fundamentally failed to properly respond to reports of sexual violence. A decade earlier, allegations against members of Duke University’s lacrosse team became a national scandal before prosecutors dropped the charges and North Carolina’s attorney general declared the players innocent.
The plaintiff in the suit against Cornell, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, alleged in her complaint that she was “plied with alcohol and drugs to the point of intoxication,” resulting in “heinous criminal sexual acts” by seven Chi Phi fraternity members at Cornell.
Kyle Kimball, Cornell’s vice president for university relations, said the university punished those involved, including with expulsions and suspensions. The Chi Phi chapter also remains barred from campus, according to Kimball.
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Kimball said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
Brittany Robb, a Delta Delta Delta representative, said the organization does not comment on pending litigation and is “committed to supporting women and victims of sexual violence.”
A representative for Chi Phi didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.
Photo: Students on Libe Slope at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York.
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