ITHACA
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened a 2024 investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University's Chi Phi fraternity, citing significantly different allegations in a civil lawsuit filed this month by a former student.
Van Houten's office is now weighing whether to bring criminal charges. He said the allegations in the civil complaint differ substantially from the woman's initial statement to police two years ago. The case will be presented to the Tompkins County grand jury, with cooperation from the alleged victim.
The alleged incident occurred Oct. 19, 2024. After allegations surfaced, Cornell's Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus. None of the seven former and current members accused in the civil suit faced criminal charges at that time.
Van Houten explained why his office did not prosecute in 2024: the woman's initial statement did not claim she was drugged without her knowledge or forced into sexual activity. She admitted to voluntarily taking drugs and alcohol. Her statement did not say she was physically helpless, unconscious or incapacitated during her time at the fraternity house.
Van Houten noted that the alleged victim nor her attorneys had contacted his office to ask for reconsideration or to suggest her sworn statement was inaccurate.
That changed with the civil lawsuit. Thomas P. Giuffra, attorney for the alleged victim, disputed Van Houten's characterization of his client's initial statement to Cornell University Police. He said authorities failed to follow up adequately with the survivor.
Giuffra faulted the initial handling for relying on a university police officer without specialized training in abuse cases. "An average University Police officer would lack the delicacy, understanding and training necessary to speak with an abuse survivor," he said. "That follow-up should have come from a specially trained detective or district attorney. No one with those skills contacted my client."
