The Tompkins County district attorney has reopened a criminal investigation into allegations that a Cornell University student was sexually assaulted at a fraternity house in October 2024. The decision follows a civil lawsuit filed by the woman earlier this month.
District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office plans to present the case to a grand jury, which will consider whether criminal charges are warranted. No criminal charges had been brought in the case as of his announcement on September 28.
The lawsuit alleges that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted the woman after she consumed alcohol and drugs and became unable to consent. It names the students, the fraternity, Cornell and other defendants. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been established in court.
Van Houten said prosecutors did not bring charges in 2024 because the account the woman initially gave campus police differed from the allegations in her lawsuit. Her lawyer has disputed that characterization and criticized the scope of the initial investigation.
Cornell said it supports the renewed criminal investigation. The university said its own inquiry led to disciplinary measures, including expulsions and suspensions, and that the Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus in 2024. Those university actions are separate from the criminal process now being reconsidered.
Correction to the supplied title: The official who reopened the investigation is the Tompkins County district attorney, not the New York attorney general.
