Overview
- Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced Monday that his office will reopen the 2024 investigation and present evidence to a grand jury after reviewing allegations in a new civil complaint.
- The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe in court filings, says that in October 2024 she was given what she was told was ketamine, lost capacity, and was sexually assaulted repeatedly by multiple members of the Chi Phi fraternity over several hours.
- The 101‑page civil complaint contains an alleged Snapchat group message inviting others to the scene, which prosecutors say differs from the account the woman originally gave to campus police.
- Cornell says it conducted internal investigations, closed the Chi Phi Xi chapter, and imposed disciplinary sanctions that included expulsions and suspensions while citing federal privacy rules that limit campus disclosure.
- No criminal arrests have been reported to date, the civil suit remains active, and the grand jury review could affect how delayed disclosures and contemporaneous digital records are weighed in campus sexual‑assault cases.