On Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order that removed the Tompkins County district attorney from the investigation of an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house and appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. The move follows newly revealed details that have eroded confidence in the local prosecutor’s handling of the case.
Hochul said that “newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024.” She added that the situation has “undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time.”
Under the order, the attorney general will direct the probe and, if necessary, present evidence to a grand jury. The decision was welcomed by Thomas Giuffra, an attorney for the alleged victim, who told NewsNation that he had “zero confidence in this district attorney’s ability to prosecute this case.” Giuffra also questioned how campus police investigated the incident and why the district attorney initially declined to file charges. Hochul said the action would ensure that “every fact will be examined and justice pursued” and that the matter would be handled independently and with rigor.
The governor’s decision came after a tense evening on campus, where dozens of students and community members gathered for more than two and a half hours at a forum organized by Cornell’s student government. The Student Assembly passed resolutions calling for increased transparency in sexual‑assault cases, a review of orientation programs on consent and substance abuse, and the provision of free counseling services for survivors. Students like Hayden Watkins and Jane Wang expressed frustration that the university had offered minimal guidance after reporting assaults and that cases were only addressed when they attracted national attention.
The lawsuit, filed in September by a student identified as Jane Doe in court filings, names seven fraternity members, the university, and the Chi Phi fraternity. It alleges that one defendant sent a social‑media message to more than 50 fraternity members inviting them to join an assault. Lawyers for two of the men denied the allegations, and the university has suspended the Chi Phi fraternity indefinitely and disciplined or expelled several students, although it declined to detail specific actions. The civil filing prompted the district attorney to announce a reopening of the investigation, though he defended his earlier decision by stating that the victim’s initial account did not indicate a forced assault, drugging, or incapacitation.
