New York’s governor replaced the local DA with the attorney general in the Cornell assault case. New texts have also surfaced.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the Cornell University sexual assault investigation Thursday, removing Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the case after saying newly released information had undermined her confidence in his office’s handling of it. Hochul’s executive order gives James’ office authority to investigate the allegations and, if warranted, prosecute any resulting charges and present evidence to a grand jury.
The move followed a week of mounting scrutiny over the case, in which a former Cornell student alleges she was gang raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. Van Houten had initially declined to bring charges, then announced earlier this week he would reopen the investigation after reviewing new information in the woman’s civil lawsuit, filed last month under the pseudonym Jane Doe. Hochul said the developments had “undercut” both her faith and the public’s faith in the district attorney’s ability to handle the case independently. Cornell said it supported the governor’s decision, and the woman’s attorney, Thomas Guiffra, said he and his client had “no faith” in Van Houten’s willingness to pursue the case and looked forward to working with James.
Separately, a New York Times report citing records from Cornell’s internal investigation described how the woman’s characterization of the encounter shifted in the weeks that followed. According to the Times’ account, she initially told one of the men involved that none of what happened was illegal, before telling him within days that “90% of what happened that night was not consensual.” She went to Cornell police five days after the incident and returned to speak with them again in mid-November 2024, telling investigators, according to a transcript cited by CBS New York, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.” The Associated Press reported it was unable to reach the other men named in the case or their representatives for comment.
The appointment came shortly after dozens of students and community members pressed Cornell administrators for accountability at a university-sponsored forum on sexual violence Thursday night, part of continued fallout on campus since the lawsuit became public last month.
This report is based on information from the Associated Press, NBC News, Gothamist and CBS News (citing a New York Times report and a CBS New York police transcript).