Tompkins County reopens Cornell assault investigation

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has reopened the criminal investigation into a former Cornell University student’s allegations of sexual assault by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, assigning a senior prosecutor to prepare the case for possible grand-jury consideration. No charges or indictment have been announced, and the allegations have not been proven in a criminal proceeding. The renewed review follows reports of a November 2024 interview with Cornell campus police in which the woman, identified in court filings as Jane Doe, reportedly made a more explicit allegation than the account prosecutors say they considered when they first declined to bring charges. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said she told police, “I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped,” citing a transcript. The transcript has not been obtained by all of the outlets whose reporting is included here, and the full contents have not been independently established in the supplied accounts. Van Houten has said his office did not receive the interview transcript before its 2024 decision and learned of it in September 2026.