Overview
- A former student filed a 101-page lawsuit in mid-September accusing seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity of drugging and gang-raping her during an October 19, 2024 visit to the fraternity house.
- Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten says he will reexamine the case and present it to a grand jury with the plaintiff’s cooperation after the civil filing provided details prosecutors say differ from the woman’s original police statement.
- The civil complaint names seven men by name and includes a screenshot of a Snapchat group chat that the suit says invited other members upstairs while the assault was underway.
- Cornell says its Office of Civil Rights and student-conduct offices investigated the matter, that the Chi Phi chapter remains barred from campus, and that some students faced expulsions or suspensions while it disputes claims that offenders were allowed to avoid serious sanctions by writing essays.
- The filing and the DA’s decision have driven intense public scrutiny, celebrity commentary and employer reviews, and any criminal case will depend on new evidence that can meet the higher proof standard required in criminal court.