Outrage grows over Cornell sexual assault investigation as governor rebukes DA’s handling of the case. Here’s the latest

Outrage is building as the case involving a Cornell University student allegedly gang raped in a fraternity house in 2024 continues to garner national attention, with the state’s governor vowing she “will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug.”

‘I want the truth’: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is “deeply disturbed” with how Cornell police conducted the original investigation following a gang rape alleged to have taken place at the Chi Phi fraternity house. Vowing to unravel the investigation’s failures, the governor said Friday, “In what world would the police learn from a victim that she’d been literally gang raped while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney?”

State AG takes over: New York State Attorney General Letitia James said her office has opened a criminal investigation into the allegations. James is replacing the Tompkins County District Attorney in overseeing the case. Although her office is limited in what it can share, James said Friday morning it will provide updates “as they become available.” Both Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten and Cornell have said they support James’ appointment.

Jane Doe’s explicit rape accusation: Jane Doe’s attorney Thomas Giuffra told CNN he believes his client did not consent to any of the sexual encounters that are the focus of her allegations and was initially “in denial” about what transpired before starting to feel ashamed and finally realizing she had been raped. Doe told Cornell police in 2024 she was “pretty ok” with aspects of an initial encounter but did not consent to other sexual activities later that night, according to a statement obtained by CNN from a source familiar with the investigation. In a separate transcript of a November 2024 interview with police, she said, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped,” according to CNN affiliate WCBS , which obtained the document. Prosecutors did not receive the transcript when Cornell police furnished Doe’s much briefer written statement, according to the local DA and New York’s governor.

Closing a New York law “loophole”: Hochul said it’s time for New York to change its sexual assault law, which excludes victims who willfully became intoxicated. She vowed to help ensure the law changes as soon as possible – a shift activists and some lawmakers have long sought. “Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” the governor said.

Professors and students condemn school’s approach: “We are deeply disturbed by Cornell University administration’s response and communications to the community, initially in 2024 and now,” wrote the Cornell University chapter of the American Association of University Professors in a statement lambasting the school’s “failures.” Current and former students have also criticized the school, which has canceled all social fraternity events this weekend, according to internal communications obtained by The Cornell Daily Sun . The national president of Doe’s sorority also spoke out against the alleged assault itself, calling it “abhorrent and inexcusable.”

Snapchat messages , a Cornell disciplinary panel’s decision and a cache of documents from the university’s formal Title IX investigation obtained by The New York Times have shed new light on what may have happened in the fraternity house, Doe’s reported frame of mind at certain points throughout that night and how her understanding of the events changed as she processed her trauma in the weeks that followed.

Cornell is facing scrutiny because the university initially said campus police investigated the allegations in 2024 and “shared all investigatory information with the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office.” But the school later changed its statement , now saying police investigated the allegations in 2024 and “shared the victim’s sworn statement and the Snapchat screenshot” with the DA’s office.

The DA previously said his office did not bring criminal charges because of Doe’s six-page statement. He later said 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.

‘I am Jane Doe’: Online campaign to protect Cornell plaintiff

Doe made an explicit allegation of rape in her interview that was not included in the six-page statement furnished to prosecutors, according to WCBS.

Although Doe did recount being hit and feeling emotionally coerced in the statement, it did not include some stronger language or allegations she used in her interview, according to The New York Times, citing documents it obtained.

Among the documents also obtained by the Times , were records showing the district attorney’s office declined to review any additional evidence gathered by the campus police department beyond the six-page statement signed by Doe.

A Cornell police investigator spoke to a member of the district attorney’s staff on November 25, 2024, about reviewing additional evidence, the Times said. By that time, university police had conducted more interviews and reviewed chat messages, the Times report said.

But prosecutors did not express interest in the additional evidence because they had decided that, based on Doe’s statement, “Criminal charges would not be pursued in this case,” a Cornell police investigator said in a note documenting the call.

When reached for comment, the district attorney staff member referred all questions to the district attorney, the Times reported.

Van Houten, the district attorney, told the Times by email that any additional records gathered by the Cornell police were “not pertinent to our analysis because we had Jane Doe’s comprehensive account of the events.”

CNN reached out to Van Houten’s office for comment Friday.

CNN obtained a copy of a heavily redacted, 99-page document summarizing key evidence included in a Cornell disciplinary panel’s decision, which supports the Times’ findings about how Doe later came to understand the night’s events as assault. The panel’s decision details more than 50 interviews, including with six of the seven accused men.

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

Amid the renewed investigation, court documents show a Chi Phi fraternity member named as a defendant in Doe’s civil suit has been petitioning New York state courts to invalidate a university disciplinary decision that found him responsible for attempted sexual exploitation.

Cornell student groups are planning a protest on campus Monday to “hold our university responsible,” according to an Instagram post from Students for a Democratic Cornell and several other campus organizations.

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 Holly Yan, Jessie Yeung, Gloria Pazmino, Jason Carroll, Alisha Ebrahimji and Jake Tapper contributed to this report.

2024 年，康奈尔大学一名女学生据称在兄弟会宿舍遭到轮奸，这一案件持续引起全国关注，引发了公众的愤怒。该州州长誓言“绝不允许任何人掩盖此案”。

“我要真相”：纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔表示，她对康奈尔大学警方在处理一起据称发生在奇菲兄弟会会所的轮奸案时最初的调查方式“深感不安”。州长誓言要查明调查中的失误，她周五表示：“在哪个世界里，警方会从受害者口中得知，她在兄弟会会所内醉酒后被五名男子轮奸，却不将这些指控上报给地方检察官？”

纽约州总检察长接手此案：纽约州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯表示，她的办公室已就这些指控展开刑事调查。詹姆斯将接替汤普金斯县地方检察官负责此案。尽管她的办公室能透露的信息有限，但詹姆斯周五上午表示，一旦有最新消息，将会及时发布。汤普金斯县地方检察官马修·范·豪顿和康奈尔大学均表示支持詹姆斯的任命。

简·多伊的明确强奸指控：简·多伊的律师托马斯·吉弗拉告诉CNN，他相信他的当事人并未同意任何构成其指控焦点的性行为，并且最初对所发生的事情“否认”，之后才开始感到羞耻，最终意识到自己遭到强奸。据CNN从一位熟悉调查的消息人士处获得的一份声明显示，多伊在2024年告诉康奈尔大学警方，她对最初几次性接触中的某些方面“感觉还不错”，但并未同意当晚晚些时候的其他性行为。据CNN附属电视台WCBS获得的一份文件显示，在2024年11月与警方的另一份笔录中，多伊说：“我可以百分之百肯定地说，我被强奸了。”据当地检察官和纽约州州长称，康奈尔大学警方向检察官提供的多伊的书面声明篇幅要短得多，但检察官并未收到这份笔录。

堵住纽约州法律“漏洞”：霍楚尔表示，纽约州是时候修改其性侵犯法了，该法将自愿醉酒的受害者排除在外。她誓言将尽力确保法律尽快修改——这是活动人士和一些立法者长期以来一直寻求的改变。“自愿醉酒绝不是性侵犯或轮奸的通行证。就这么简单。”州长说道。

教授和学生谴责学校的做法：“我们对康奈尔大学校方在2024年以及现在对社区的回应和沟通深感不安，”美国大学教授协会康奈尔分会在一份声明中猛烈抨击了学校的“失职”。据《康奈尔每日太阳报》获得的内部通讯显示，现任和前任学生也对学校提出了批评，学校已取消了本周末所有兄弟会的社交活动。Doe所在姐妹会的全国主席也公开谴责了这起涉嫌袭击事件，称其“令人发指，不可饶恕”。

《纽约时报》获得的 Snapchat 消息、康奈尔大学纪律委员会的决定以及该大学正式第九条调查的大量文件，揭示了兄弟会宿舍里可能发生的事情、据报道，Doe 当晚某些时刻的心理状态，以及在接下来的几周里，随着她处理创伤，她对事件的理解发生了怎样的变化。

康奈尔大学正面临审查，因为该校最初表示，校警在2024年对这些指控进行了调查，并将“所有调查信息分享给了汤普金斯县地方检察官办公室”。但该校后来更改了声明，现在表示警方在2024年对这些指控进行了调查，并将“受害者的宣誓证词和Snapchat截图”分享给了地方检察官办公室。

地方检察官此前表示，由于简·多伊提交了一份长达六页的声明，他的办公室并未提起刑事诉讼。他后来又表示，他的办公室获取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简·多伊在兄弟会宿舍房间内的照片，当时她正描述自己遭到袭击。

“我是简·多伊”：保护康奈尔原告的线上运动

据 WCBS 报道，Doe 在接受采访时明确指控自己遭到强奸，但这一指控并未包含在提交给检察官的六页声明中。

据《纽约时报》援引其获得的文件报道，虽然简·多伊在声明中确实提到了自己遭到殴打和感到受到情感胁迫，但声明中并没有包含她在采访中使用的更强烈的措辞或指控。

《泰晤士报》获得的文档中，还有一些记录显示，地方检察官办公室拒绝审查校园警察部门收集的除 Doe 签署的六页声明之外的任何其他证据。

据《泰晤士报》报道，2024年11月25日，康奈尔大学警方的一名调查员与地区检察官办公室的一名工作人员进行了交谈，讨论审查更多证据的事宜。报道还称，到那时，大学警方已经进行了更多访谈并审查了聊天记录。

但检察官并未对这些补充证据表示兴趣，因为他们根据 Doe 的陈述决定，“本案不会提起刑事诉讼”，康奈尔大学的一名警官在一份记录通话内容的笔记中写道。

据《泰晤士报》报道，当被问及此事时，地方检察官办公室的工作人员将所有问题都转给了地方检察官本人。

地区检察官范·豪顿通过电子邮件告诉《泰晤士报》，康奈尔警方收集的任何其他记录“与我们的分析无关，因为我们有简·多伊对事件的全面描述”。

周五，CNN联系了范·豪顿的办公室，希望获得评论。

CNN获得了一份经过大量删减的99页文件，该文件总结了康奈尔大学纪律委员会裁决中的关键证据，这些证据支持了《纽约时报》关于约翰·多伊后来如何将当晚事件理解为性侵犯的调查结果。委员会的裁决详细记录了50多次访谈，其中包括对七名被告中的六人的访谈。

据原告Doe的律师称，最初的大学调查导致涉事学生被停学或开除，该兄弟会分会被禁止进入校园，并成立了性侵犯专案组。据《泰晤士报》报道，四名Chi Phi兄弟会成员承认与Doe发生过性接触，但声称双方自愿。其他成员则否认参与过性行为。

在重新展开的调查中，法庭文件显示，一名被列为 Doe 民事诉讼被告的 Chi Phi 兄弟会成员一直在向纽约州法院请愿，要求撤销大学一项认定他犯有企图性剥削罪的纪律处分决定。

据康奈尔民主学生组织和其他几个校园组织在Instagram上发布的帖子称，康奈尔大学的学生团体计划于周一在校园内举行抗议活动，以“追究我们大学的责任”。

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Holly Yan、Jessie Yeung、Gloria Pazmino、Jason Carroll、Alisha Ebrahimji和Jake Tapper对本报道亦有贡献。