NY DA Defends Decision Not to Prosecute Cornell Fraternity Case, Plans Grand Jury Review

In October 2024, a woman reported being drugged, assaulted, and gang raped by seven members of Cornell University's Chi Phi fraternity. Two years later, the case has not resulted in criminal charges—a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from the victim's legal team and renewed scrutiny from prosecutors who initially declined to pursue the matter.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten defended his office's original decision not to prosecute, telling ABC News that the facts available did not meet the legal threshold for charges. "If what was said on social media about this case was true, those fraternity members would be in prison right now," he said. Van Houten's central argument hinged on consent: he contended that the woman had agreed to sexual activity at the outset and never explicitly withdrew that consent. When she raised concerns during the encounter, he said, the men stopped. "She clearly consented in the beginning, and there was never any indication that she changed that to the things that she participated in," Van Houten stated.

The DA acknowledged that his office had not examined photographs from the fraternity's Snapchat group, though he dismissed their relevance to the core question of consent. He described the messages as "disgusting and vulgar and immoral" but argued they did not bear on whether the woman had consented to the sexual acts themselves. Van Houten also cited New York's legal framework on intoxication and consent, noting that voluntary drug or alcohol use that impairs judgment does not, under state law, automatically render a person unable to consent. "That's a very difficult concept, but it's a concept that I am constrained by when I apply the law to the case," he said.

The victim's attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, challenged the thoroughness of the investigation. He pointed out that his client had been interviewed only by the officer who took her initial complaint—no other investigator had spoken with her. Giuffra also raised concerns that critical evidence may have been lost during the two-year gap before the case was revisited. "I believe that opportunities to fully investigate these crimes were lost. We will never fully know what occurred or the identities of everyone who was involved that night," he said. The delay itself, he suggested, had compromised the prosecution's ability to build a complete record.

In response to the civil lawsuit the woman filed, Van Houten's office announced it would reopen the case and present it to a grand jury in the fall. The DA said he planned to meet with the woman to establish rapport before her testimony and indicated he would seek documents from Cornell's separate Title IX investigation. Some of the fraternity members may also testify.

Cornell's internal investigation had proceeded on a parallel track. The university conducted a Title IX review over several months, which resulted in expulsions and suspensions for those found responsible. The Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus in 2024. In a statement, Cornell defended the severity of its sanctions, rejecting suggestions that consequences had been minimal. "Any suggestion that the University did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false," the school said, adding that the claim perpetuates a false narrative that undermines survivors' sense of safety.

Defense attorneys have denied the allegations. One defendant's lawyer, Jeremy Saland, stated flatly that the incident described in the complaint "did not happen" and said his client looked forward to confronting the woman in court with evidence and her own words. Another defendant acknowledged sending a message included in the complaint but denied engaging in sexual activity or drug use.

The case now hinges on what a grand jury will conclude when presented with the evidence this fall. The two-year interval between the alleged assault and the reopened investigation has already shaped the contours of what can be known and proven.