District attorney defends earlier decision not to file criminal charges over Cornell rape allegations

Outrage has grown nationwide over the handling of an alleged sexual assault at Cornell University two years ago, prompting prosecutors to announce they are reviewing the case while defending their past decision not to file charges.

Tompkins County Prosecutor Matthew Van Houten said in a statement Monday that his office is considering filing criminal charges related to a 2024 incident at the Chi Phi fraternity house.

In a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month, a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe alleges she was sexually assaulted, raped and drugged by seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers at the fraternity house on campus on the evening of Oct. 19 and continuing through Oct. 20, 2024. The fraternity chapter was later banned from campus, but no one was criminally charged. According to the lawsuit, some students were able to “mitigate their conduct” by writing college essays.

Van Houten said in a statement that he was reopening the investigation into the sexual assault allegations and asked a lead prosecutor to prepare a case for a grand jury. This grand jury will be able to consider Jane Doe’s testimony, as well as any new evidence from the civil complaint.

“While I generally refrain from commenting publicly on criminal investigations, community outrage stemming from incomplete information and social media coverage demands that I provide a response to why the investigation resulted in no criminal charges,” he said in the statement.

Van Houten defended his office’s decision not to file criminal charges at the time, saying that in a November 2024 statement, Doe did not allege that she was gang raped or drugged against her will. “To the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement describes her participation in drug use and sexual behavior as voluntary, knowing, and consensual,” he wrote, adding that Doe’s lawyers never contacted him before filing a civil suit two years later.

Thomas P. Giuffra, Jane Doe’s attorney, said that in the days after the assault, his client was “traumatized, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened.”

“She was in self-preservation mode,” he said in a statement released Sunday.

Giuffra said Doe went to the Cornell University Police Department “once she was emotionally ready” because she believed she was the victim of a crime, but that “no one other than the officer who took her initial complaint spoke to her.”

Doe said in a written statement Monday that when she began her studies at Cornell, she was hopeful and believed she would receive a good education.

“What I experienced at the hands of those who raped me in the fraternity was the worst experience of my life. I was brutalized and it hurt me physically but perhaps more importantly, emotionally,” she said. “I want to recover from this trauma but it is extremely difficult. It affects every aspect of my life. It will haunt me and be a part of me for the rest of my life.”

Giuffra said if multiple interviews had taken place, leads and more evidence could have been obtained. He said a group chat shared anonymously with Doe, a screenshot of which was included in the lawsuit, contained several comments from fraternity members. In a comment, a fraternity member said there was free “p—” available on the floor where Jane Doe was located.

“This thread was a valuable starting point in identifying witnesses and possibly other attackers,” he said. “However, this never came to fruition.”

NBC News reached out to Ithaca police to ask about their involvement in the case, but did not immediately receive a response. The Ithaca Police Department is actively investigating the allegations, according to the civil lawsuit. Cornell police referred NBC News to previous statements released by the university defending its handling of the allegations.

The prosecutor said his office does not have the role of “conducting independent investigations parallel to police investigations” and that police investigate crimes while the prosecutor’s office prosecutes them.

The lawsuit names seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity “for the sexual assault and rape of” Doe. The lawyer for one of the defendants, Scott Kretzschmar, strongly denied the accusations and said his client welcomed the new investigation.

“The lawsuit against Scott Kretzachmar is not only intentionally dishonest but morally repugnant,” attorney Jeremy Saland said in a statement. “While Scott responded and made an immature comment on Snapchat, he did nothing else. Nothing.”

NBC News attempted to contact the other six people named in the lawsuit, but could not immediately reach them or receive a response.

Giuffra, Doe’s attorney, said reopening the case was a step in the right direction, “albeit late.”

The role of Cornell University

Cornell University said Monday it supports the Tompkins County prosecutor’s decision to have the case heard by a criminal grand jury. The statement pushed back against the suggestion that those involved in the incident faced few consequences at the time, revealing that the university’s Title IX process resulted in a series of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions.

“Any suggestion that the university did not impose meaningful sanctions on those involved is false,” Kyle Kimball, Cornell’s vice president for university relations, said in the statement.

Cornell said its Title IX investigation lasted several months and included temporary suspensions while the case was pending. A panel of faculty and staff heard testimony for several days before imposing sanctions, the university said in a statement.

The lawsuit accuses Cornell University of negligence by failing to protect Doe, then a 20-year-old student, while she was in the university’s custody, failing to prevent alleged sexual abuse on its campus and failing to supervise students.

In its statement earlier this month, the university said it launched the President’s Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault shortly after the incident and implemented recommendations to combat sexual assault on campus.

Cornell said in its statement that “none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as the sole consequence of their involvement. Additionally, the affected fraternity chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.”

The night of the alleged attack

According to the lawsuit, Doe was a member of Tri Delta National’s Alpha Beta chapter and living in the campus sorority at the time of the alleged assault.

On the evening of Oct. 19, Jane Doe drank to the point of intoxication at her on-campus sorority before attending a social event her sorority was hosting at Moonies Bar & Nightclub in downtown Ithaca, the suit states.

The lawsuit says she left with other sorority sisters around 10 p.m., went to another bar, then went alone to the Chi Phi fraternity house on campus, where the alleged sexual assault took place, to meet one of the members, described as her friend.

The suit accuses Chi Phi Chapter, Chi Phi National, Alpha Beta Chapter, Tri-Delta National and Moonies Bar & Nightclub of negligence.

The national Chi Phi fraternity, in a Sept. 18 statement, called allegations of sexual assault at Cornell University “deeply concerning.”

“We are aware of the lawsuit regarding an alleged incident that occurred in 2024,” the fraternity said in the statement. “While we cannot discuss the specific allegations during ongoing litigation, we take this matter seriously. Our responsibility is to approach this matter with care for those affected and with due process of law.”

Tri Delta and Cornell’s Alpha Beta chapter said in a statement Sunday that the sorority does not comment on pending litigation and that it supports women and victims of sexual violence.

The lawsuit also accuses the Moonies of illegally selling alcohol to an intoxicated person or minor.

Moonies said in a Sept. 21 statement that it hosted a private event for the Tri Delta sorority on Oct. 19 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., but denied serving alcohol to the victim because she was underage. The bar said the victim worked at the bar from February to March 2025, during which time “she openly discussed the details of the October incident.”

The bar’s statement expressed sympathy for Doe. “However, she never mentioned being drunk or served alcohol by the Moonies bartender,” he adds.

Public outrage over the allegations in the lawsuit intensified over the weekend, culminating in the prosecutor’s statement announcing that the case would be reopened and sent to a grand jury.

Van Houten said in his statement Monday that after the trial, he contacted Doe’s attorneys to understand the discrepancy between Doe’s original statement and the lawsuit “and the path forward in light of the lawsuit’s allegations.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), can connect you with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN’s online chat service at rainn.org/get-help.