Cornell police omitted student rape claim from summary sent to prosecutor: Report

Campus police at Cornell University omitted a student’s explicit statements that she had been raped when forwarding an investigation summary to local prosecutors, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Documents obtained by the newspaper show that campus officers drafted a condensed six-page voluntary statement following hours of interviews with the sophomore in November 2024, excluding her statements that seven men sexually assaulted her inside a fraternity house.

The woman recounted finding herself naked and surrounded by a “ring of men” after an encounter spiraled into a prolonged assault involving ketamine and alcohol at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. “I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped,” she told an officer during questioning.

However, the condensed police file shared with Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten omitted her unequivocal assertion that she had been raped. Relying on the summarized file, the prosecutor concluded there was insufficient evidence and declined at the time to bring criminal charges against the men.

The revelations follow Van Houten’s recent decision to reopen the criminal investigation and present the case to a grand jury, spurred by a civil lawsuit filed Sept. 14 by the former student, identified as Jane Doe, against Cornell University, Chi Phi organizations and seven current and former students.

Van Houten said allegations in the civil action differed substantially from the 2024 police statement, citing newly uncovered communications, including a fraternity group chat.

The woman’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, disputed that characterization, accusing authorities of failing to properly examine evidence provided at the outset of the investigation.