Prosecutors are reopening a 2024 case involving allegations that Cornell University fraternity members drugged and sexually assaulted a student, with the matter expected to go before a grand jury.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten told ABC News that he intends to present the case with the alleged victim’s co-operation. No charges were brought when the case was first investigated.
The decision follows a civil lawsuit filed by the woman, which Mr Van Houten said presented a “dramatically different” account from the one she initially gave police.
He said she had not originally told investigators that she was unknowingly drugged, forced into sexual activity or incapacitated. Her lawyer disputed that account, saying she was not interviewed by a specially trained detective or prosecutor after reporting the alleged attack.
A dispute has also emerged over Snapchat messages. Mr Van Houten said prosecutors had not seen the messages, while the woman’s legal team maintained that police had them in 2024 but failed to investigate them further.
In the civil claim, the woman alleges that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity gave her ketamine and sexually assaulted her inside the fraternity house. She also alleges that one member invited others upstairs through the fraternity’s Snapchat group, using the phrase “free p***y”.
Cornell said it investigated the allegations but could not disclose any disciplinary action because of federal privacy law. Chi Phi remains barred from campus.
Lawyers representing two of the men accused have denied wrongdoing. The case is now being reconsidered by prosecutors, who are giving the allegations another opportunity to go before a grand jury.
