A CNN interview pressed District Attorney Matthew Van Houten on why no criminal charges were brought for two years after a former Cornell student reported being drugged and assaulted by seven fraternity members; the DA says the office relied on the original police investigation and found the initial statement did not meet New York’s legal standards for lack of consent.
Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten reopened the criminal investigation after public backlash over the absence of charges for two years.
The alleged victim, identified as Jane Doe in reporting, filed a civil suit alleging she was drugged and gang-raped by seven Chi Phi fraternity members in October 2024.
Van Houten says his office relied on the Cornell University Police investigation and that the victim’s initial statement did not allege the legal elements of lack of consent under New York law.
# What happened
CNN host Jake Tapper pressed Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten over his office's handling of allegations that a former Cornell student was drugged and gang-raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024. The case drew intense public scrutiny after the woman filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026 and media reporting amplified details of the events and the university's response.
# Who's involved
The central figures are the alleged victim (referred to as Jane Doe in reporting), seven accused members of the Chi Phi fraternity, Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten, and Cornell University, which investigated the matter under Title IX.
# Why the confrontation on CNN
# Key factual points cited in reporting
# What the DA said about evidence and procedure
Van Houten emphasized legal constraints: prosecutors must apply the state's penal law when deciding whether to bring charges. He said the content of the accuser's initial statement did not explicitly allege unconsciousness, being physically compelled, or being drugged without her knowledge—criteria he indicated are required for criminal charges under New York law. He also described his office's usual practice of relying on police investigations rather than conducting parallel independent inquiries.
# Current status
Following public criticism and renewed attention, Van Houten reopened the criminal investigation and is seeking review by a grand jury. Cornell publicly said it supports the DA's decision to put the case before a grand jury and reiterated that it completed a separate Title IX process that led to disciplinary actions and the fraternity chapter's closure.
# What to watch next
The District Attorney who initially oversaw the investigation into a former Cornell University student’s claims that she was gang raped by seven members of a fraternity in 2024 is admitting his office didn’t conduct an initial, independent investigation into the case. Instead, the DA simply relied on campus police. Tom
The prestigious school insisted it “supports” the DA’s decision to finally put the case before a grand jury.
The DA's Monday statement provided an excruciatingly detailed account of what the alleged victim said happened to her.
After a week of intensifying public pressure and reporting from Cornell’s independent daily newspaper, prosecutors in New York have reopened a criminal investigation into the alleged 2024 gang rape of a former student at the campus’s Chi Phi fraternity house. The student, identified as Jane Doe, filed a civil complaint
The most recent news from Nigeria and across the world is available at The News Chronicle. The News Chronicle provides the most recent headlines, commentary, and political news. This month has seen the United Nations issue two reports alleging the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United State
The Dallas FBI Field Office shared insight into the reported decline in violent crime both in the U.S. and in the North Texas region. According to the agency’s 2025 Crime in the Nation Report, there were 1.1 million violent crimes reported nationally, a decrease of 9.3% from 2024 to 2025. The crimes include: murder, no
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.