NEW YORK, Oct 2 — New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed a special prosecutor to look into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University, she said on Thursday, shunning the district attorney who had declined to file charges.
US prosecutors reopened the investigation after the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit in September, fuelling allegations that the elite college failed to properly hold the men accountable.
The alleged victim said in the lawsuit that she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped in 2024 by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.
The earlier decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to take the suspects to court “undercut my faith, and the public’s faith” in the DA’s ability, Hochul said in a statement.
The governor named New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate and “if warranted, prosecute any offenses arising from that investigation and present evidence to a grand jury.”
In a post on X, Hochul said that “New information has raised serious questions about how this case was handled, and I’ve lost faith in the Tompkins County DA’s ability to fairly oversee it.”
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” she added.
James said on X that she was “ready to lead a process guided by the facts and the law.”
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said this week that he planned to file criminal charges against the seven men.
He said his office chose not to prosecute in 2024 because the victim’s testimony did not establish a lack of consent.
In response to the incident, Cornell closed the fraternity and temporarily suspended the students involved, several of whom were later expelled. — AFP
