New York state police to take over sexual assault investigations at Cornell University
New York Governor Kathy Hochul says state police will handle future sexual assault investigations at Cornell University under a new agreement, as the fallout grows over the university's handling of an alleged fraternity gang-rape case.
New York state police will take over future sexual assault investigations at Cornell University, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday, in the latest fallout from criticism of how the university handled an alleged gang-rape on its campus.
Under an agreement signed by the state and the university, sexual offence complaints that would normally fall to campus police will instead be referred to state police for criminal investigation, unless the person making the complaint asks otherwise, Hochul said in a statement.
The case at the centre of the controversy involves a woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, who says she was drugged and sexually assaulted by members of the Chi Phi fraternity during a visit to the fraternity house in October 2024. A civil lawsuit filed this year names seven former students. Cornell expelled or disciplined several students over the incident, but no criminal charges were filed, a gap that drew widespread criticism from students, alumni and advocates demanding greater transparency.
Hochul had previously named Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to reopen the criminal investigation into the complaint, while a committee of Cornell's board of trustees appointed former US deputy attorney general Sally Yates to review the university's response to sexual assault claims. Cornell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Cornell's Faculty Senate is pressing ahead with a vote of no confidence in the central administration's ability to address the crisis. About 135 members of the governing body can vote on the non-binding resolution from Friday until 6 November, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.
