Cornell case sent to grand jury as prosecutors reopen investigation

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten says his office has reopened its investigation into a former Cornell University student’s allegations of rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024. He will present the case to a grand jury, which will consider whether charges are warranted.

The student’s civil lawsuit, filed on 16 September, alleges she was drugged and raped by seven men and that Cornell and law enforcement mishandled the response. She says she reported the incident to Cornell police in November 2024. Prosecutors filed no criminal charges at the time.

Van Houten said the student’s initial statement described drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious and consensual. He said prosecutors could not have based their 2024 decision on allegations in a lawsuit filed later, and that new evidence can warrant reopening a case.

Cornell says an internal process led to expulsions and suspensions, and that the Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus. The university supports the decision to have the case heard by a grand jury.

Attorneys for two men named in the lawsuit deny the allegations. One attorney said his client did not touch the complainant. The claims have not been established in court, and the grand jury’s review and any charging decision are pending.