Cornell president vows review after alleged gang rape

Dubai: Cornell University’s president has called the alleged gang rape of a student at a fraternity house “deeply disturbing” and pledged greater transparency as new questions emerge over evidence gathered in the 2024 investigation and why criminal charges were not pursued.

In an eight-minute video message on Saturday, President Michael Kotlikoff described the past week as one of the most difficult in Cornell’s history and acknowledged troubling questions surrounding the investigations that followed the allegations.

“My heart aches when I think of what she experienced,” Kotlikoff said. “It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use.”

“What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come,” he added.

The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit last month against Cornell and seven former students. She alleges she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped by members of the Chi Phi fraternity.

The lawsuit has triggered widespread anger over how Cornell and local authorities handled her allegations and has prompted New York Governor Kathy Hochul to order a fresh criminal investigation.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken over the criminal investigation from Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.

Hochul has sharply criticised the handling of the original investigation, questioning why the allegations were not pursued further.

Scrutiny has intensified following reports about what information prosecutors received — and what they did not.

Records obtained by The New York Times showed that the district attorney’s office declined in November 2024 to review additional evidence gathered by Cornell police, including further interviews and chat messages, after deciding on the basis of Jane Doe’s six-page statement that criminal charges would not be pursued.

CNN also reported that in a separate November 2024 police interview, Jane Doe said she could say “with 100% confidence” that she had been raped. That statement was not included in the six-page account furnished to prosecutors.

Cornell has also faced questions over its description of the information provided to the district attorney. The university initially said campus police had shared “all investigatory information” with prosecutors, but later said police had shared the woman’s sworn statement and a Snapchat screenshot.

Van Houten has defended the decision not to prosecute, saying Jane Doe’s statement was sufficient for his office’s analysis.

Kotlikoff said Cornell supported the decision to reopen the criminal investigation and welcomed an independent review by an outside law firm into the university’s handling of the case.

Cornell’s Board of Trustees is expected to announce details of that review next week.

“I want to acknowledge something that can be difficult for an institution to say,” Kotlikoff said. “We don’t have all the answers, but we are committed to investigating and finding the answers our community deserves.”

He said Cornell would not wait for either the criminal investigation or the independent review to be completed before taking action.

The university would strengthen programmes dealing with sexual assault prevention and education, mental health and substance use, he said.

Kotlikoff also acknowledged frustration over Cornell’s communications, saying the university would make a greater effort to explain its actions and be more transparent within legal and privacy limits.

Pressure has also mounted on Kotlikoff personally. At a student assembly hearing on Thursday, several speakers called for his resignation.

Asked on Friday whether he should step down, Hochul declined to take a position, saying she did not yet have enough information.

Cornell also cancelled social fraternity events for the weekend, while student groups were planning a campus protest amid anger over the university’s handling of the case.

The case has also renewed scrutiny of what critics call a “voluntary intoxication loophole” in New York’s sexual assault law.

The law distinguishes between people incapacitated by substances administered without their consent and those who voluntarily became intoxicated, potentially complicating prosecutions where a person becomes too intoxicated to consent.

Hochul has vowed to seek changes.

“Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” she said.

Kotlikoff said Cornell would support legislative efforts to change the law.

Following the original allegations, Cornell’s disciplinary process led to suspensions and expulsions among the accused students, according to Jane Doe’s attorney. The Chi Phi chapter was also barred from campus.

‘Kotlikoff said the controversy should also prompt a broader examination of fraternity and sorority culture at Cornell.

He called for a “serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life”, saying Cornell would examine how to preserve what is valuable about Greek life while strengthening accountability and transparency.

“Being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility for our own actions, for how we treat others or for speaking up when someone may be at risk,” he said.

-- With AP and AFP inputs