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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/10\/02\/nyregion\/cornell-rape-case-letitia-james?emc=edit_na_20261002&nl=breaking-news&segment_id=227424",
    "parsed_content": "LiveUpdated\u00a0Oct. 2, 2026, 12:16 p.m. ET2 minutes agoLive Updates: Hochul Rebukes Prosecutor\u2019s Handling of Cornell Case\u201cIn what world would the police\u201d not elevate allegations of a rape to the district attorney, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York asked. Share full articleImageGov. Kathy Hochul of New York and Letitia James, New York\u2019s attorney general on Friday.Credit...Hilary Swift for The New York TimesSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Latest PinnedUpdated\u00a0Oct. 2, 2026, 11:49 a.m. ET30 minutes agoHurubie Meko and Claire FahyHere\u2019s the latest.In direct and sometimes furious remarks, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York on Friday questioned how Cornell University\u2019s police department and the local district attorney handled sexual assault allegations made by a student who said she was raped at a fraternity house in 2024.Ms. Hochul was speaking at a news conference in Manhattan on Friday morning, alongside the state attorney general, Letitia James, whom the governor has appointed to oversee the investigation into the allegations.Ms. Hochul said she was concerned to learn that the student, identified as Jane Doe, had given an interview to the campus police about the episode that included an unequivocal statement that she had been raped. That language was missing in the condensed statement that was shared with the district attorney\u2019s office in Tompkins County, N.Y., which decided not to file criminal charges.\u201cIn what world would the police learn from the victim that she had literally been gang-raped\u201d and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney, Ms. Hochul said.A lawsuit filed by the student two weeks ago has reignited a national conversation about the persistent issue of sexual assault on college campuses. It has also plunged one of the country\u2019s elite universities into crisis. Cornell\u2019s campus newspaper, elected officials and celebrities have questioned how the case was initially handled by the district attorney and the university.\u201cWhen the Tompkins County district attorney announced that he was reopening the case, he pointed to Jane Doe\u2019s statement that said it did not establish that a crime had occurred,\u201d Ms. Hochul said. \u201cBut new reporting raises serious questions about the information his office relied upon when it made that decision.\u201dThe district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, said in a statement after the news conference that he supported the appointment of Ms. James and that his office would cooperate fully with hers.\u201cIt has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the university,\u201d he said. \u201cThe focus has been and should continue to be on the victims.\u201dIn her lawsuit, Jane Doe, a 20-year-old sophomore at the time of the encounter on Oct. 19, 2024, said that she had been plied with alcohol and drugs and then raped by several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house. She is suing the fraternity, seven men, the university and her sorority.The seven accused men denied wrongdoing. Four acknowledged sexual contact but said it was consensual; the others denied participating in sexual encounters.The New York Times obtained more than 1,000 pages from an internal university inquiry into the allegations and published a detailed account on Thursday morning of how Jane Doe struggled for weeks before reporting the incident to the authorities.Mr. Van Houten had initially defended his office\u2019s decision not to pursue criminal charges at the time. But in recent days, as a backlash grew, he said that his office would reopen the investigation.The spotlight will now turn to Ms. James, who has wide latitude to subpoena witnesses and documents and bring charges if she so chooses.Ms. James\u2019s office has already begun a review of the way law enforcement officials handled the matter. She said that in the coming months, her office would launch a comprehensive investigation and \u201creview the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions.\u201d She said she had not spoken to Mr. Van Houten.The prosecution of any sexual assault case is complicated by the fact that victims\u2019 accounts often change as they grapple with the aftermath of a traumatic event. Jane Doe\u2019s case includes some additional factors, including that the incident happened nearly two years ago. And New York State law makes it hard to charge people with rape if the accuser chose to become intoxicated.Ms. Hochul said on Friday it was incumbent on lawmakers to address this part of the law as soon as possible. The Legislature is currently not in session, but there will certainly be pressure on lawmakers to act when they return to work in January.Thomas Giuffra, Jane Doe\u2019s lawyer, said that he and his client were \u201cthrilled\u201d with the appointment of Ms. James.\u201cWe had no faith in D.A. Van Houten\u2019s ability or desire to actively investigate and prosecute this case,\u201d Mr. Giuffra said.Here\u2019s what else to know:Cornell documents: The Times obtained more than 1,000 pages of previously unreported documents from a university review of the case. Here are the revelations so far.The accused: The accounts of the men, detailed in the investigative files obtained by The Times, were disjointed and sometimes contradictory. They denied any wrongdoing.Timeline: Read a chronology of the investigation.Benjamin Oreskes and Benjamin Weiser contributed reporting.Show moreOct. 2, 2026, 11:29 a.m. ET49 minutes agoCaitlyn FreemanA spokesperson for Cornell University said the school supports James\u2019 appointment. \u201cWe fully support the appointment of a special prosecutor and efforts to change New York State\u2019s rape law and are committed to an independent external review of all aspects of how Cornell has handled this case,\u201d the university said in a statement.Oct. 2, 2026, 11:07 a.m. ET1 hour agoHurubie MekoThe Tompkins district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, has publicly defended his office\u2019s work since Sunday, when he said that he would reopen an investigation into the 2024 allegations. He released a nine-page statement on Monday explaining and defending his office\u2019s decision at the time to not prosecute based on Jane Doe\u2019s signed statement. He has spoken to the media throughout the week. But Van Houten has not publicly commented on the installation of a special prosector.Oct. 2, 2026, 11:06 a.m. ET1 hour agoBenjamin WeiserThe prosecution of any sexual assault or rape case is challenging because of the nature of the alleged crime. This case has additional factors, including the fact that the incident happened nearly two years ago, and New York\u2019s rape laws, which make it difficult for a person who chose to be intoxicated to prove they did not consent to a sexual encounter. Shifts in the accuser\u2019s account in the days after the encounter could hurt her credibility if the case goes before jury. Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor who also served as the Westchester County, N.Y., district attorney from 2021 to 2024, said that a victim\u2019s statement may initially be contradictory or confusing for many reasons.\u201cIt could be wandering and all over the place because they suffered a trauma, and they don\u2019t know or can\u2019t process or express it,\u201d Rocah said. She added that prosecutors cannot just sit down and say, \u201cAll right, tell me what happened.\u201d District attorney\u2019s offices must have the training and sensitivity to investigate sex crimes.\u201cThis is like 101 of trauma-informed interviewing,\u201d Rocah said, \u201cand clearly here that did not happen.\u201dOct. 2, 2026, 10:56 a.m. ET1 hour agoBenjamin OreskesAs special prosecutor for this case, James has wide latitude to investigate the allegations against these seven men or others as she sees fit. The law Hochul used to push aside the district attorney, states that James \u201cshall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties in respect of such actions or proceedings, which the district attorney would otherwise be authorized or required to exercise.\u201dThat means she is able subpoena witnesses along with documents, and, if she deems it necessary, bring charges in the case.Oct. 2, 2026, 10:27 a.m. ET2 hours agoBenjamin OreskesLetitia James has some history with the politically fraught nature of special counsel appointments. In 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, citing the same constitutional statute as Gov. Kathy Hochul did today, asked James to appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against him that he denied. The report that resulted helped hasten Cuomo\u2019s resignation later that year. The former governor has continued to criticize its findings and James\u2019s actions.ImageCredit...Hilary Swift for The New York TimesOct. 2, 2026, 10:09 a.m. ET2 hours agoEmma GoldbergReporting from Ithaca, N.Y.As the news conference began, Cornell students were rushing to classes. Some said that, across campus, people felt a sense of having been let down by administrators, who they feel mishandled the allegations. Other students said they realized sexual assault happened across college campuses, and this shouldn\u2019t be seen as an issue isolated to Cornell. And they expressed the surreal nature of seeing their campus come under a national spotlight.Oct. 2, 2026, 10:06 a.m. ET2 hours agoBenjamin OreskesThe New York State Legislature is not now in session, but there will certainly be pressure when the lawmakers return to work in January \u2014 if not sooner \u2014 to address an element of the state\u2019s laws that makes it hard to charge people with rape if the accuser chose to become intoxicated. The State Senate passed a bill in the spring altering this statute, but it was held up in the Assembly. Hochul said on Friday that it was incumbent on lawmakers to address this part of the law as soon as possible.Oct. 2, 2026, 10:05 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoAt this morning\u2019s news conference, Hochul did not mince words. \u201cWhen the Tompkins County district attorney announced that he was reopening the case, he pointed to Jane Doe\u2019s statement that said it did not establish that a crime had occurred,\u201d she said. \u201cBut new reporting raises serious questions about the information his office relied upon when it made that decision.\u201dVideoCreditCredit...Associated PressOct. 2, 2026, 10:04 a.m. ET2 hours agoBenjamin OreskesIt was James, New York\u2019s attorney general, who last year appointed a special prosecutor after recusing herself from an investigation into the fatal beating of a state prison inmate in December 2024. The special prosecutor, William J. Fitzpatrick, brought charges against 10 officers in connection with the killing of the prisoner, Robert L. Brooks.Oct. 2, 2026, 10:03 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoIn 2018, when the Manhattan district attorney at the time, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced that his office would investigate the allegations of assault brought against the state\u2019s attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, the decision instigated a political tussle with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo appointed the Nassau County district attorney to investigate \u201cany and all matters\u201d related to Schneiderman\u2019s alleged mistreatment of his former romantic partners. The two offices appeared to eventually reach a truce.Oct. 2, 2026, 10:01 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoOther examples of cases being taken over by the attorney general\u2019s office include every police-related civilian death in New York State, which are examined by the attorney general\u2019s Office of Special Investigation.Oct. 2, 2026, 9:57 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoThe governor and attorney general concluded the news conference after about 15 minutes.Oct. 2, 2026, 9:56 a.m. ET2 hours agoBenjamin OreskesThis is not the first time that a governor of New York has used the office\u2019s power to remove a county prosecutor from a criminal case. In 2018, the Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Nassau County district attorney, Madeline Singas, as special prosecutor to investigate assault allegations against then Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. (Schneiderman later resigned, but never faced charges).Oct. 2, 2026, 9:55 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoJames said she had not spoken with the Tompkins County district attorney, Matthew Van Houten.ImageCredit...Hilary Swift for The New York TimesOct. 2, 2026, 9:53 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoHochul said the fact that the Tompkins County district attorney did not interview Jane Doe after receiving the police department\u2019s six-page report was \u201cexactly why we\u2019re here today and why I took the action last night.\u201d She called the information about the inital investigation \u201cvery contradictory and conflicting.\u201dImageCredit...Hilary Swift for The New York TimesOct. 2, 2026, 9:51 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie Meko\u201cSomebody knew more than they were letting people know,\u201d the governor said.Oct. 2, 2026, 9:51 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie Meko\u201cI am deeply distrubed by Cornell University\u2019s police and how they handled this,\u201d Hochul said, calling the department\u2019s sending of a \u201cpartial record\u201d to the district attorney a failure.Oct. 2, 2026, 9:51 a.m. ET2 hours agoHurubie MekoThe governor\u2019s words were very direct and, at points, incensed. She did not hold back in voicing what she found concerning: how the police spoke with the woman, known as Jane Doe, and that they did not elevate her unequivocal words that she believed she was raped to the district attorney.ImageCredit...Hilary Swift for The New York TimesOct. 2, 2026, 9:48 a.m. ET3 hours agoHurubie MekoJames said the case was now an active criminal investigation.Oct. 2, 2026, 9:47 a.m. ET3 hours agoHurubie MekoThe attorney general said that in the coming months, her office would launch a comprehensive investigation and \u201creview the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and if warranted, pursue prosecutions.\u201dVideoCreditCredit...Associated PressOct. 2, 2026, 9:47 a.m. ET3 hours agoHurubie MekoHochul said that she supports changing state law around voluntary intoxication in cases of sexual assault.Oct. 2, 2026, 9:46 a.m. ET3 hours agoHurubie MekoHochul said she was concerned to learn what information was taken from Jane Doe\u2019s interview with police and passed to the district attorney. \u201cIn what world would the police learn from the victim that she had been literally been gang raped\u201d and that she believed \u201c100 percent\u201d she had been raped and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney, Hochul asked.VideoCreditCredit...Associated Press",
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