Special prosecutor takes over Cornell alleged gang rape investigation as national outrage grows

A special prosecutor is taking over the investigation into the 2024 alleged gang rape of a former student at Cornell University, as national outrage and demands for accountability reignite the conversation around sexual assault on college campuses .

As the probe escalates, fury has erupted among Cornell students, parents, and faculty who call for stronger repercussions against the alleged perpetrators and for university officials to resign, as new information emerges this week that raise questions over how the case was originally handled by the university and law enforcement.

“I think I can speak for every single one of us when I say we’re absolutely ashamed of the events that happened on our campus,” said student assembly president Eeshaan Chaudhuri at a public forum on campus Thursday night.

Some students at the event blamed Cornell officials for not doing enough to protect the former student, identified as Jane Doe, while others faulted university investigators and broader institutional issues, including fraternity culture.

The revelations this week, including what Doe told campus police about the alleged assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house that began October 19, 2024, have raised serious questions about what Cornell found during its investigation and what was shared with the county district attorney – who told CNN his office never received more than exchanged Snapchat messages related to the incident and a six-page investigative report before deciding not to bring charges against the accused in 2024.

In her announcement Thursday naming State Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had “lost faith” in the county district attorney’s ability to “fairly oversee” the investigation.

She and James will hold a news conference Friday about the next steps in the investigation.

Cornell has said police followed protocol and shared “all investigatory information” with the DA. The university told CNN Thursday it supports the governor’s decision.

The university has declined to confirm individual disciplinary outcomes, citing federal student privacy law, but said university policy violations “could lead to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion.” The Chi Phi chapter was banned from campus in 2024 and a Cornell task force addressing sexual assault issued a final report earlier this year.

Here’s what we know.

Students, parents and faculty at the student assembly hearing on Thursday gave an outpouring of support for Doe, with some describing the case’s impact on the community.

Sophia Riley Sim, a junior, described the campus as being in a “mental health crisis,” with students struggling to grieve while upholding their academic responsibilities.

“I was devastated by what happened to Jane Doe two years ago, when I was a freshman, and I’m a junior now, and I cried about it then, and I am still equally devastated and pained about it now, and I am terribly disappointed in our university,” she said.

The majority of the meeting was off the record, so students could come forward and share freely. However, some students spoke in front of reporters for a public portion of the event.

One student, Jane Wang, shared that she had also reported sexual assault to the university, and felt unsupported and let down by its Title IX investigation process.

Cornell student ‘cried’ for Jane Doe, demands accountability

“I’m also speaking as a fellow Jane Doe,” said Wang, a junior. “In the midst of all of my mental, physical and emotional recovery from the assault, I was also met with an abundance of paperwork, very little instruction on how to navigate it and no follow up from our Title IX office of an outcome.”

She said students like herself need to know that when witnesses come forward, “somebody will listen and that a broader institution will act on it.”

Cereese Qusba, senior editor of student newspaper The Cornell Daily Sun, which first broke news of Doe’s lawsuit, told CNN the room cheered after some called for the resignation of university officials.

Qusba told CNN it feels as though the university faces a reckoning in how it grapples with cases of sexual assault on campus, saying: “I think it reminds everyone of the MeToo movement ten years ago. And this is now marking a decade since that has happened.”

“We see this across the social media and the wider community. We’ve watched it grow and become an international issue as well. What I can say is, I don’t think that the university can return to a status quo after this.”

Since Doe’s civil lawsuit last month sparked national attention and prompted the reopening of an investigation into the alleged assault, new evidence calls into question the initial probe by the county district attorney, as well as Cornell’s own response.

“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,” Hochul said in her announcement on Thursday.

“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” she wrote.

James will now have the power to investigate the incident and, if warranted, prosecute any offenses and present evidence to a grand jury.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has said his office did not bring criminal charges against the men involved because of Doe’s signed six-page statement to police, which did not include some of the allegations and details added in the lawsuit.

“Multiple prosecutors and criminal investigators reviewed Jane Doe’s statement and correctly determined the alleged facts as set forth in the statement do not constitute a crime,” he told CNN earlier this week.

He also said this week his office had access to some Snapchat messages exchanged during the alleged assault in a group chat titled “Chi Phi Actives.” Images of one Snapchat chain obtained by CNN include a photo of Doe in a room at the fraternity house during the time she describes being assaulted.

Other evidence has also emerged this week which Van Houten says was not made available to his office, including a transcript of a November 2024 interview with campus police, in which Doe explicitly says, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”

There are also new details from the university’s Title IX investigation, records of which were exclusively obtained by the New York Times and corroborated by Doe’s attorney.

CNN obtained a copy of a heavily redacted, 99-page document summarizing the key evidence included in the Cornell disciplinary panel’s findings, which supports the Times’ findings about how Doe later came to understand the night’s events as assault.

According to the documents, Doe first reported the alleged gang rape to campus police in 2024, roughly three weeks after the October night.

At the time, a police officer “condensed” Doe’s hours-long interview into a six-page document, which “omitted” her “unequivocal statement that she had been raped,” as well as other stronger language she had used, according to the Times, citing documents it had obtained. After leaving her own handwritten corrections, Doe signed off on the final version of statement the next day, which was shared with the DA’s office along with the Snapchat messages.

Police officers had tried to contact the alleged perpetrators, with “varying degrees of success,” according to the Times, citing the documents.

At the same time, Cornell held its own formal Title IX investigation into the case, in which it held more than 50 interviews, including with six of the seven accused, according to the heavily redacted document obtained by CNN.

According to the document, at least one of the men was found to have violated the school’s policy against sexual exploitation and sexual assault, and at least one respondent was found responsible for attempted sexual exploitation, but was not found responsible for sexual assault.

The university investigation led to suspensions and expulsions for the accused students, according to Doe’s attorney, the barring of the fraternity chapter from campus and the launch of a sexual assault task force.

For the man found responsible only for attempted sexual exploitation, the Cornell panel imposed several sanctions: a “no contact order” with Jane Doe, an order to submit to the Title IX office a “reflection paper” on the circumstances he was found responsible, and an order to take a corrective class.

The university has 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.”

CNN has not seen the full Title IX filings, which are generally confidential and restricted to the parties involved.

According to the Times, citing the Title IX filings, the men accused have denied any wrongdoing, with one telling investigators that he also was “a victim of sexual misconduct” because the woman had given him oral sex when he was “too incapacitated” to consent.

Doe’s complaint alleges she was provided alcohol and pressured her into snorting a substance described as ketamine, and that she was then sexually assaulted while “incapable of consent.”

According to the Times, the men’s accounts differed, contradicted each other, and were contrary to the statements given by the woman to Cornell police in 2024.

Four of the Chi Phi fraternity members acknowledged having sexual contact with the woman, but said that their interactions had been consensual. The others denied participating in sexual encounters, the Times reported.

Lawyers for three of the men accused of being involved have since issued statements denying wrongdoing. CNN is working to see if the others accused have legal representation.

Doe’s attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, said he didn’t believe the trove of details from the Title IX investigation were ever given to Cornell police.

“I believe that the information was not, because what is contained in the proceedings is evidence of several crimes being committed with excellent supporting evidence,” Giuffra said in a statement to CNN.

CNN’s Isa Mudannayake, Jake Tapper, Jeff Winter, Alex Stambaugh, Danya Gainor, Holly Yan, Chris Boyette, Rebekah Riess, Cindy Von Quednow, Avni Trivedi, and Pamela Brown contributed to this report.

一名特别检察官将接手对 2024 年康奈尔大学一名前学生遭轮奸案的调查，全国的愤怒和对追究责任的呼声再次引发了关于大学校园性侵犯问题的讨论。

随着调查的升级，康奈尔大学的学生、家长和教职员工怒不可遏，他们呼吁对涉嫌肇事者处以更严厉的惩罚，并要求大学官员辞职。本周出现的新信息引发了人们对大学和执法部门最初如何处理此案的质疑。

“我想我可以代表我们所有人说，我们对校园里发生的事件感到无比羞愧，”学生会主席伊沙安·乔杜里周四晚上在校园的一个公开论坛上说道。

一些参加此次活动的学生指责康奈尔大学官员没有采取足够措施保护这位被称作简·多伊的前学生，而另一些学生则指责大学调查人员和更广泛的制度问题，包括兄弟会文化。

本周披露的信息，包括 Doe 向校园警察讲述的 2024 年 10 月 19 日在 Chi Phi 兄弟会宿舍发生的所谓袭击事件，引发了人们对康奈尔大学调查结果以及与县地方检察官分享的信息的严重质疑——地方检察官告诉 CNN，他的办公室从未收到过与该事件相关的 Snapchat 消息往来以及一份六页的调查报告，之后决定在 2024 年不对被告提起诉讼。

纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔周四宣布任命州检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯为该案的特别检察官，并表示她“对县地方检察官“公正监督”调查的能力失去了信心”。

她和詹姆斯将于周五召开新闻发布会，介绍调查的下一步措施。

康奈尔大学表示，警方遵循了既定程序，并将“所有调查信息”分享给了地方检察官。该大学周四告诉CNN，他们支持州长的决定。

校方以联邦学生隐私法为由，拒绝透露具体的处分结果，但表示违反校规“可能导致包括停学或开除在内的处罚”。Chi Phi兄弟会分会已于2024年被禁止在校园内活动，康奈尔大学一个专门处理性侵犯问题的特别工作组也于今年早些时候发布了最终报告。

以下是我们目前所了解的情况。

周四的学生集会听证会上，学生、家长和教职员工纷纷表达了对 Doe 的支持，一些人还描述了此案对社区的影响。

大三学生索菲亚·莱利·西姆 (Sophia Riley Sim) 将校园描述为“心理健康危机”，学生们在努力应对悲伤的同时，还要履行学业责任。

“两年前，我还是大一新生的时候，简·多伊的遭遇让我感到非常难过。我现在是大三学生了，当时我为此哭了，现在我仍然为此感到同样难过和痛苦，我对我们的大学感到非常失望，”她说。

会议的大部分内容都是非公开的，以便学生可以畅所欲言。不过，在会议的公开环节，也有一些学生在记者面前发表了讲话。

一名学生 Jane Wang 表示，她也曾向学校举报过性侵犯，但对学校的第九条修正案调查过程感到不被支持和失望。

康奈尔大学学生为简·多伊“哭泣”，要求追究责任

“我也是名无名氏，”大三学生王说道，“在我从性侵事件中恢复过来，身心俱疲之际，我还要面对大量的文书工作，却很少有人指导我如何应对，而且第九条办公室也没有后续跟进处理结果。”

她说，像她这样的学生需要知道，当证人站出来时，“会有人倾听，而且更广泛的机构会采取行动”。

学生报纸《康奈尔每日太阳报》的高级编辑塞里斯·库斯巴 (Cereese Qusba) 告诉 CNN，当有人呼吁大学官员辞职时，房间里响起了欢呼声。《康奈尔每日太阳报》率先报道了约翰·多伊的诉讼。

库斯巴告诉CNN，感觉这所大学在处理校园性侵案件方面面临着清算，他说：“我认为这让每个人都想起了十年前的#MeToo运动。而现在，距离那场运动已经过去了十年。”

“我们在社交媒体和更广泛的社区中都看到了这种情况。我们眼睁睁地看着它不断发展壮大，最终成为一个国际性问题。我可以肯定地说，我认为大学在经历了这一切之后，再也无法回到过去的样子了。”

由于 Doe 上个月提起的民事诉讼引起了全国关注，并促使人们重新调查这起涉嫌袭击事件，新的证据使人们对县地方检察官的最初调查以及康奈尔大学自身的反应产生了质疑。

“新的信息引发了人们对这起案件处理方式的严重质疑，我对汤普金斯县地方检察官公正监督此案的能力失去了信心，”霍楚尔在周四的声明中说。

“这起案件中的年轻女子理应知道，每一个事实都会被审查，正义将会得到伸张，”她写道。

詹姆斯现在有权调查这起事件，如果情况属实，可以对任何违法行为提起诉讼，并将证据提交给大陪审团。

汤普金斯县地方检察官马修·范·豪顿表示，他的办公室没有对涉案人员提起刑事诉讼，因为原告约翰·多伊向警方签署了一份六页的声明，其中没有包含诉讼中添加的一些指控和细节。

“多名检察官和刑事调查人员审查了简·多伊的陈述，并正确认定陈述中所述的所谓事实不构成犯罪，”他本周早些时候告诉 CNN。

本周他还表示，他的办公室掌握了一些据称在袭击事件发生期间，在名为“Chi Phi Actives”的群聊中交换的Snapchat信息。CNN获得的一条Snapchat聊天记录截图中包含一张Doe在兄弟会宿舍房间里的照片，当时她正描述自己遭到袭击。

本周还出现了其他证据，范·豪顿表示他的办公室没有收到这些证据，其中包括 2024 年 11 月校园警察的一次采访记录，其中约翰·多伊明确表示：“我可以百分之百肯定地说，我被强奸了。”

此外，该大学第九条修正案调查也出现了新的细节，相关记录由《纽约时报》独家获得，并得到了原告律师的证实。

CNN 获得了一份经过大量删减的 99 页文件副本，该文件总结了康奈尔大学纪律委员会调查结果中包含的关键证据，这支持了《纽约时报》关于 Doe 后来如何将当晚的事件理解为袭击的调查结果。

根据文件显示，Doe 于 2024 年首次向校园警察报告了这起涉嫌轮奸案，大约在 10 月的那个夜晚发生三周后。

据《泰晤士报》援引其获得的文件报道，当时一名警官将简·多伊长达数小时的讯问“浓缩”成一份六页的文件，其中“遗漏”了她“明确表示自己遭到强奸”的陈述，以及她使用的其他更强烈的措辞。多伊在亲笔修改后，于第二天签署了最终版本的声明，该声明连同Snapchat聊天记录一起提交给了地方检察官办公室。

据《泰晤士报》援引文件报道，警方曾试图联系涉嫌犯罪者，但“成功程度不一”。

与此同时，康奈尔大学也根据《教育法修正案第九条》对该案件展开了正式调查，并进行了 50 多次面谈，其中包括对七名被告中的六名进行了面谈。CNN 获得的这份经过大量删减的文件证实了这一点。

根据该文件，至少有一名男子被发现违反了学校禁止性剥削和性侵犯的政策，至少有一名被告被认定犯有企图性剥削罪，但未被认定犯有性侵犯罪。

据原告律师称，大学的调查导致被指控的学生被停学或开除，兄弟会分会被禁止进入校园，并成立了性侵犯特别工作组。

对于仅被认定犯有企图性剥削罪的男子，康奈尔委员会施加了多项制裁：禁止与简·多伊接触，责令其向第九条办公室提交一份关于其被认定负有责任的情况的“反思文件”，以及责令其参加矫正课程。

校方以联邦学生隐私法为由，拒绝透露具体的处分结果。校方表示，违反校规“可能导致包括停学或开除在内的处分”，并补充道，“我们将通过法律程序详细回应。”

CNN尚未看到完整的第九条修正案文件，这些文件通常是保密的，仅限相关各方查阅。

据《泰晤士报》援引第九条修正案文件报道，被指控的男子否认有任何不当行为，其中一人告诉调查人员，他也是“性行为不端的受害者”，因为该女子在他“无力”同意的情况下为他口交。

Doe 的投诉称，有人向她提供酒精，并强迫她吸食一种被描述为氯胺酮的物质，然后在她“无法同意”的情况下对她进行了性侵犯。

据《泰晤士报》报道，这些男子的说法各不相同，互相矛盾，并且与该女子在 2024 年向康奈尔警方提供的证词相矛盾。

据《泰晤士报》报道，四名奇菲兄弟会成员承认与该女子发生过性接触，但声称双方均自愿。其余成员则否认参与过性行为。

三名被指控涉案男子的律师已发表声明否认有任何不当行为。CNN正在努力了解其他被指控者是否聘请了律师。

Doe 的律师 Thomas P. Giuffra 表示，他不相信第九条调查的大量细节曾被提供给康奈尔大学警方。

“我认为这些信息并非如此，因为诉讼程序中包含的证据证明了多起犯罪行为的发生，并有充分的佐证，”吉弗拉在给 CNN 的一份声明中说。

CNN 的 Isa Mudannayake、Jake Tapper、Jeff Winter、Alex Stambaugh、Danya Gainor、Holly Yan、Chris Boyette、Rebekah Riess、Cindy Von Quednow、Avni Trivedi 和 Pamela Brown 对本报道亦有贡献。