A Cornell University student who tipped off police about an alleged gang rape at a campus fraternity house says she and others feel “betrayed” by how the Ivy League school handled the case.
The student, who has not been publicly identified, spoke about what she witnessed in the aftermath of the October 19, 2024 incident at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house. She recalled hearing rumors within hours that a female student, known in court records as Jane Doe, had gone to the house for a threesome that had “gone off the rails.” The tipster said she was “really horrified by it.”
As word spread across campus, Cornell issued a crime safety alert about a reported sexual assault at a fraternity. The student decided to contact authorities after seeing screenshots of group messages that Chi Phi members had reportedly sent on Snapchat.
“Within Cornell’s Greek life, rumors spread fast,” she said. “Everyone knew someone who [knew]” the fraternity brothers involved.
She was asked to speak with campus police days after Jane Doe formally reported the incident on November 8. The interview lasted roughly half an hour, during which officers took her full statement. She named specific fraternity members who had been messaging about that evening and provided information about widespread ketamine use at Chi Phi.
Jane Doe’s lawsuit states she was plied with ketamine, a powerful tranquilizer, and strong alcohol before and during the alleged sexual assault.
The student who came forward said the officers she spoke with seemed “fairly competent.” But she came away with the impression that her testimony had stalled.
“I guess I assumed that I wasn’t enough,” she said.
Her concerns deepened when she learned how the case had been handled at higher levels. Cornell Police had spoken with multiple witnesses and collected numerous anonymous tips about the alleged gang rape. Yet according to records, that material was never forwarded to the local prosecutor for review when authorities were deciding whether to press charges.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said only interviews of fraternity members “declining to speak on the advice of their attorney” were flagged for prosecutors.
“The thing I think we all feel betrayed in regards to is that it wasn’t handled,” the student said.
“When we got the police report, I think we all assumed it was being … handled properly, and was in good hands,” she added.
The case took a dramatic turn on Friday when Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she was removing it from Tompkins County jurisdiction and placing New York Attorney General Letitia James in charge of a new investigation.
Cornell University and campus police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the student’s allegations or the governor’s intervention.