What we know about the lawsuit and investigation into the alleged gang rape at Cornell University

Heather Ainsworth/AP

A former Cornell University student filed a lawsuit this month alleging she was drugged and gang raped inside a fraternity house in 2024, and the fresh scrutiny has prompted prosecutors to reopen the investigation .

The 101-page lawsuit details disturbing allegations about what the woman, identified as Jane Doe, says unfolded inside Chi Phi’s frat house the night of October 19, 2024, and how the university and local prosecutors in Ithaca, New York, handled the case. Doe accused seven members of the frat of participating in the assault while she was unable to consent.

The Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office said Monday it reopened the case to seek a grand jury review after being “asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members.”

County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said no criminal charges were initially filed because Doe had not provided police in 2024 with the same key allegations outlined in the new lawsuit.

Doe’s attorney says the information was promptly given to Cornell authorities, and the report was “not materially different from what is contained in the (2026) complaint.”

The legal dispute has revived concerns about how universities respond to allegations of campus sexual assault.

Here’s what we know:

The complaint names more than a dozen defendants, including the seven fraternity members from 2024, Cornell University, and the Chi Phi fraternity. Allegations include negligence, breach of contract, sexual assault and battery, and violations of New York’s Human Rights Law.

CNN has reached out to the Cornell University Police Department, the Chi Phi fraternity and others named in the lawsuit.

The complaint says Doe was 20 years old and had been drinking at her sorority house and a bar before she arrived at the Chi Phi house to visit a friend, who was one of the fraternity members on the night of October 19, 2024.

According to the suit, Doe had already consumed about 10 standard drinks within the past 3 hours when she arrived at the fraternity house.

The complaint alleges the friend and another fraternity member gave her more alcohol and pressured her into snorting a substance they described as ketamine, and that she was then sexually assaulted while “incapable of consent.”

At roughly 1:42 a.m., one of the men allegedly sent a message to the fraternity’s Snapchat group chat – titled “Chi Phi Actives” – stating there was “free p*ssy” upstairs.

By doing this, the suit alleges one of the accused “encouraged other XI CHAPTER members to join in on the gang rape of plaintiff.”

A photo of a portion of the chat is included in the filing. Multiple fraternity members then entered the room, where the complaint alleges they pressured Doe into taking more ketamine and subjected her to an hours-long assault that continued until approximately 5:45 a.m.

An attorney for one of the accused fraternity brothers denied any wrongdoing by his client.

“Even the District Attorney’s Office, led by a chief prosecutor with the duty to pursue justice and uphold the rule of law without bias or favor, filed no charges against (him) because what she alleged did not happen,” attorney Jeremy Saland said in a statement to CNN. He said his client “never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way.”

CNN is working to determine if the other fraternity brothers have representation.

The district attorney said the initial report Jane Doe made to university police differs significantly from the allegations in the lawsuit.

Nothing in Doe’s original statement indicated she was drugged without consent or had sex against her will, Van Houten said. According to the accuser’s statement, “each time Jane Doe asked to stop the sexual conduct, the sexual conduct stopped.”

Van Houten’s office has not released the full police report. CNN has asked Doe’s attorney for a response to Van Houten’s statement and for a copy of her complete 2024 police statement.

During a contentious interview Monday, CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed Van Houten on why there wasn’t a more expansive investigation from law enforcement or the DA’s office after the initial report was made in 2024.

“We can’t change what happened in the past as much as the community is outraged,” Van Houten said. “My job under the New York State Constitution is to apply the penal law of New York State. We are constrained by that law. Whether you agree with it, whether you think someone’s conduct is morally repugnant or vulgar or disgusting. I’m still constrained by the law.”

Van Houten acknowledged that the text message screen shots between the men “were completely vulgar and disgusting, but they had nothing to do with her consent.”

Tapper asked when Van Houten got copies of the text messages, included in the complaint, that the fraternity brothers sent each other.

Van Houten said that his team did not see the text messages evidence initially.

“They were not part of our initial analysis, but I understand that Cornell had them, and they sent them to our team,” he said.

Earlier, Doe’s attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra said in a statement he believes the initial investigation was inadequate.

“It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint,” Giuffra said.

“Other than her initial contact with Cornell Police, she was not contacted by investigators from the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office or any investigators trained in interviewing rape survivors,” Giuffra said.

“If the District Attorney’s office is now considering prosecution, I believe that it is a step in the right direction, albeit a late one.”

The Ithaca Police Department said in a statement Monday that it was “disturbed” to hear about the 2024 allegations. The department noted it learned about the alleged incident only recently through the media and said the incident was not reported to the agency.

Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Doe reported the incident to the Cornell University Police Department on November 8, 2024, the complaint says.

Doe’s attorney said Cornell expelled two of the seven accused students while the others received lesser punishment, including suspensions, workshops or written assignments.

Cornell countered that claim Monday, saying there was a range of sanctions for the accused students, including suspensions and expulsions. But “none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” the university said.

In a September 21 statement, Cornell declined to confirm the individual disciplinary outcomes, citing federal student privacy law. The school said violations of university policy “could lead to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion,” adding, “We will respond in detail through the legal process.”

The sanctions came after it conducted a formal Title IX investigation, separate from the criminal proceeding, and a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days, the school said.

The school also said it had closed the chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity and remains barred from its campus.

The lawsuit faults Cornell for failing to properly discipline after the assault, “all the while sheltering them from speaking to law enforcement, and silencing victims.”

Cornell’s “conduct was so outrageous, shocking, despicable, and contemptible that it exceeds the reasonable bounds of decency as measured by what the average member of the community would tolerate and demonstrates an utter disregard for the consequences that would follow,” the lawsuit says.

The complaint is seeking a jury trial to determine monetary damages.

Cornell said in a statement Monday it “supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story … to be heard by a criminal grand jury.”

“Any suggestion that the University did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the statement read. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”

Help is available: For help in the US, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or chat 24/7 on online.rainn.org .

CNN’s Hanna Park, Gloria Pazmino, Jeff Winter, Cindy Von Quednow and Holly Yan contributed to this report.

Heather Ainsworth/美联社

本月，一名康奈尔大学前学生提起诉讼，声称她在 2024 年于一所兄弟会会所内被下药并遭到轮奸，新的审查促使检察官重新展开调查。

这份长达101页的诉讼详细描述了令人不安的指控，涉及化名为简·多伊（Jane Doe）的女子所称的2024年10月19日晚在奇菲兄弟会（Chi Phi）会所内发生的事件，以及纽约州伊萨卡市的大学和当地检察官如何处理此案。多伊指控该兄弟会的七名成员在她无法同意的情况下参与了性侵。

汤普金斯县地方检察官办公室周一表示，在“社区要求重新考虑是否对七名兄弟会成员提起刑事诉讼”后，他们重新启动了此案，寻求大陪审团审查。

县地方检察官马修·范·豪顿表示，最初没有提起刑事诉讼，因为原告约翰·多伊在 2024 年没有向警方提供新诉讼中概述的相同关键指控。

Doe 的律师表示，该信息已及时提供给康奈尔大学当局，并且该报告“与（2026 年）投诉中包含的内容没有实质性差异”。

这场法律纠纷再次引发了人们对大学如何应对校园性侵指控的担忧。

我们目前掌握的情况如下：

诉状列出了十几名被告，其中包括2024届的七名兄弟会成员、康奈尔大学和Chi Phi兄弟会。指控包括疏忽、违约、性侵犯和殴打，以及违反纽约州人权法。

CNN已联系康奈尔大学警察局、Chi Phi兄弟会以及诉讼中提到的其他各方。

起诉书称，2024 年 10 月 19 日晚，20 岁的 Doe 在她所在的姐妹会宿舍和一家酒吧喝酒后，前往 Chi Phi 兄弟会宿舍探望一位朋友，这位朋友是该兄弟会的成员。

诉讼称，Doe 到达兄弟会会所时，在过去的 3 小时内已经喝了大约 10 杯标准饮品。

投诉称，这位朋友和另一名兄弟会成员给她喝了更多酒，并强迫她吸食一种他们称之为氯胺酮的物质，然后在她“无法同意”的情况下对她进行了性侵犯。

凌晨 1 点 42 分左右，其中一名男子据称向兄弟会的 Snapchat 群聊（名为“Chi Phi Actives”）发送了一条消息，称楼上有“免费的 p*ssy”（免费 p*ssy）。

诉讼称，通过这种方式，其中一名被告“鼓励其他 XI CHAPTER 成员参与对原告的轮奸”。

诉讼文件中包含部分聊天记录的截图。随后，多名兄弟会成员进入房间，诉状称他们强迫Doe服用更多氯胺酮，并对她进行了长达数小时的性侵犯，直至凌晨5点45分左右。

其中一名被指控的兄弟会成员的律师否认其当事人有任何不当行为。

“即使是由一位肩负着公正无私、维护法治职责的首席检察官领导的地区检察官办公室，也没有对（他）提起任何指控，因为她所指控的事情根本没有发生，”律师杰里米·萨兰德在给CNN的一份声明中说。他表示，他的当事人“从未性侵过原告，甚至从未以任何方式触碰过她”。

CNN正在努力查明其他兄弟会成员是否也有代表出席。

地方检察官表示，简·多伊最初向大学警方提交的报告与诉讼中的指控有很大不同。

范·豪顿表示，简·多伊最初的陈述中没有任何内容表明她是在未经同意的情况下被下药或被迫发生性行为的。根据原告的陈述，“每次简·多伊要求停止性行为时，性行为都会停止。”

范·豪顿的办公室尚未公布完整的警方报告。CNN已要求原告Doe的律师对范·豪顿的声明作出回应，并索取其2024年向警方提供的完整笔录。

在周一的一次激烈采访中，CNN 的杰克·塔珀追问范·豪顿，为什么在 2024 年最初的报告发布后，执法部门或地方检察官办公室没有进行更广泛的调查。

“尽管社区对此义愤填膺，但我们无法改变过去发生的事情，”范·豪顿说道。“根据纽约州宪法，我的职责是执行纽约州刑法。我们必须遵守法律。无论你是否认同法律，无论你是否认为某人的行为在道德上令人反感、粗俗或令人作呕，我仍然必须遵守法律。”

范·豪顿承认，这些男人之间的短信截图“完全粗俗不堪，令人作呕，但这与她是否同意无关”。

塔珀问范豪顿何时获得了投诉中提到的兄弟会成员之间互发的短信副本。

范豪顿表示，他的团队最初并没有看到这些短信证据。

“这些样本不在我们最初的分析范围内，但我了解到康奈尔大学掌握了这些样本，并将它们发送给了我们的团队，”他说。

此前，Doe 的律师 Thomas P. Giuffra 在一份声明中表示，他认为最初的调查不够充分。

“我很难理解，在她除了最初受理她投诉的警官之外，从未与任何人交谈过的情况下，如何能进行彻底的刑事调查，”吉弗拉说。

“除了她最初与康奈尔大学警方接触外，汤普金斯县地方检察官办公室的调查人员或任何受过采访强奸幸存者培训的调查人员都没有联系过她，”吉弗拉说。

“如果地方检察官办公室现在考虑提起诉讼，我认为这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，尽管来得有点晚。”

伊萨卡警察局周一发表声明称，对2024年的指控感到“不安”。该部门指出，他们也是最近才通过媒体得知这起事件，并表示此前并未有人向该机构报告过此事。

Bing Guan/Bloomberg/Getty Images

投诉称，Doe 于 2024 年 11 月 8 日向康奈尔大学警察局报告了这起事件。

Doe 的律师表示，康奈尔大学开除了七名被指控学生中的两名，而其他学生则受到了较轻的处罚，包括停学、参加研讨会或提交书面作业。

康奈尔大学周一反驳了这一说法，称校方对涉事学生采取了一系列处罚措施，包括停学和开除。但校方表示，“没有任何一名被指控的学生仅仅因为参与此事就被要求撰写论文。”

康奈尔大学在9月21日的一份声明中拒绝透露具体的处分结果，理由是联邦学生隐私法。该校表示，违反大学规定的行为“可能导致包括停学或开除在内的处罚”，并补充说，“我们将通过法律程序详细回应”。

学校表示，这些制裁是在学校进行了一项正式的第九条修正案调查之后做出的，该调查与刑事诉讼无关，一个由训练有素的教职员工组成的小组听取了多天的证据。

学校还表示，已关闭 Chi Phi 兄弟会的分会，并禁止该兄弟会成员进入校园。

诉讼指责康奈尔大学在袭击事件发生后未能进行适当的惩戒，“同时还包庇他们，不让他们与执法部门交谈，并让受害者噤声”。

诉讼称，康奈尔的“行为如此令人愤慨、震惊、卑鄙和可鄙，以至于超出了普通民众所能容忍的合理体面范围，并且完全无视由此产生的后果”。

该诉讼请求进行陪审团审判，以确定金钱赔偿金额。

康奈尔大学周一发表声明称，该校“支持汤普金斯县地方检察官的决定，即让受害者的遭遇有机会被刑事大陪审团听取”。

声明中写道：“任何关于大学没有对涉事人员施加相应惩罚的说法都是不实的。继续散布此案后果轻微的错误说法是不负责任的，会让幸存者感到更不安全、更缺乏支持，并会助长性侵犯案件的瞒报现象。”

可以获得帮助：在美国，如需帮助，请拨打全国性侵犯热线 1-800-656-4673 或访问 online.rainn.org 进行 24/7 全天候聊天。

CNN的Hanna Park、Gloria Pazmino、Jeff Winter、Cindy Von Quednow和Holly Yan对本报道亦有贡献。