Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten is reopening the investigation into the alleged gang rape of a Cornell student. This decision comes nearly two years after prosecutors first declined to bring criminal charges against the seven men involved.
The new probe follows a 101-page civil lawsuit filed by the victim, identified only as Jane Doe, on September 14. The lawsuit alleges the men drugged her and forced her to ingest ketamine while she was incapacitated. According to reports, his office now plans to bring the case before a grand jury while the victim cooperates.
The civil complaint details specific actions that prosecutors claim were not fully known in late 2024. According to the lawsuit, Johnathan Newell, a defendant, allegedly transmitted a Snapchat at 1:42 a.m. to a group chat referencing “free p*y” upstairs. The allegations further state that members snorted ketamine from the victim’s body and compelled her to do likewise.
Van Houten told ABC News that these new allegations are “dramatically different” from the statement the woman gave to police in November 2024. He noted that the original report did not claim she was unknowingly drugged or forced into sexual activity while incapacitated. His office relied on the Cornell Police investigation at the time and did not conduct an independent one.
Thomas Giuffra, the attorney for Jane Doe, disputes the district attorney’s description of the past events. He informed ABC News that authorities did not adequately follow up with his client after the incident. Giuffra also said a fraternity group chat was provided to authorities in 2024 but was missed by investigators.
“This was a critical piece of evidence supporting that a crime had occurred,” Giuffra said regarding the missing chat logs.
The seven men named in the lawsuit were suspended from Cornell but were allowed to continue their education after a Title IX investigation. The findings of that internal university investigation have not been released to the public, according to reports. The civil complaint indicates that the students could mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to the university.
Cornell University has not commented on whether the students were offered or submitted these essays. However, the university has pushed back against claims that they failed to punish the accused. The New York Post received a statement asserting, “Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false.”
Public pressure has also mounted outside the courtroom. Toby Morton, a former South Park writer, created a website called TheCornell7.org to expose the seven men. He warned on Instagram that he is also looking for university staff who gave the men a break. Morton wrote that “accountability is coming” for those involved.
Van Houten emphasized that the grand jury will decide if criminal conduct occurred based on this new information. “We want to reexamine whether there’s additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024,” he told ABC News. The grand jury will now determine if there is enough proof to indict the seven men.
