Officials to give update on Cornell University rape investigation

• Warning: This story contains distressing details and discussion of sexual assault

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, are due to give an update on the investigation into the alleged gang rape of a woman at Cornell University

• The case was reopened after the woman filed a civil lawsuit last month, alleging she was drugged and raped by seven men at a fraternity house in 2024

• Speaking yesterday, Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor in the case after she “lost faith” in the local prosecutor’s ability to oversee the investigation

• “The young woman at the centre of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” Hochul said in a statement

• Hochul and James are expected to begin their news conference shortly, which you will be able to watch live at the top of this page

A news conference by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, has just begun in Midtown Manhattan.

The pair are expected to give an update on the investigation into the alleged rape of a woman at Cornell University.

We will bring you live updates – you can follow along by pressing watch live at the top of this page.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Cornell University

We’ve been speaking to students on Cornell’s campus, including at an emotional town hall yesterday. The overwhelming feelings are those of anger at the University, and shame that this happened on their campus.

A phrase that we kept hearing in our conversations was that the administration “swept this under the rug”, which Cornell strongly disputes.

That hasn’t satisfied students who felt blindsided by the distressing revelations in Jane Doe’s lawsuit that have completely changed their understanding and perceptions of what happened in October 2024.

At the time, Cornell released little information to the community. But crucially, the conversation this case has started means New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul felt compelled to intervene.

Cornell has agreed to an independent investigation into their handling of Jane Doe’s allegations. And now the Governor has gone further, announcing she’s lost faith in the local prosecutors in Ithaca.

Multiple students also told us they believe Cornell can redeem itself if it does the right thing by taking accountability and passing reforms.

New York state prosecutors have reopened an investigation into the alleged rape of a woman at Cornell University in 2024.

The woman, named anonymously as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit against the Ivy League university on 16 September alleging she was drugged and raped at a fraternity house at the university.

She alleged that Cornell failed to protect her or adequately punish the men, who have been dubbed the “Cornell Seven”.

The university said it supported presenting the case to a grand jury, while rejecting claims that it failed to punish those involved. It has also agreed to have the case examined by an independent investigator.

In a 101-page civil lawsuit, the woman – who was a 20-year-old Cornell undergraduate at the time – alleged that on the night of 19 October 2024, seven men from Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity chapter assaulted her for hours in an incident involving alcohol and the drug ketamine.

Jane Doe said in her lawsuit that she was intoxicated during the alleged incident and incapable of providing consent.

She said she left her sorority sisters after drinking that night and “stumbled alone” to the Chi Phi fraternity house in the city of Ithaca to see a male friend.

The lawsuit was filed against the university, the fraternity, the sorority, and the men involved in the alleged attack.

You can read more about the case here.

Read more.