New York Gov. Kathy Hochul mentioned Friday that the girl who accused members of a Cornell College fraternity of gang rape was “failed” by folks obligated to guard her, together with police and the county prosecutor.
Hochul’s declare got here throughout a information convention through which she gave particulars on her determination to show the case over to a particular prosecutor, the state Lawyer Normal Letitia James.
The governor mentioned she made the choice after studying “troubling particulars” about how authorities have dealt with the girl’s claims up to now, together with that the district lawyer closed the case with out having anybody interview the sufferer or anybody else concerned within the alleged assault.
“In what world does the district lawyer not even interview her, or anybody else concerned, and even request the complete transcript?” Hochul mentioned. “This lady, this younger lady, had already endured one thing that’s completely unspeakable. After which at each flip, she was failed by folks and establishments with an obligation to guard her.”
She additionally assailed the Cornell College Police Division for not absolutely conveying the girl’s story to prosecutors.
“After this younger lady got here ahead, she spoke to the police. She sat for hours and instructed them precisely what occurred to her. And in keeping with new stories, she couldn’t have been clearer that she was 100% assured that she had been raped,” the governor mentioned. “But, shockingly, these phrases by no means made it into the account that the Cornell police despatched to prosecutors.”
Hochul mentioned Thursday that she appointed James to supervise the case as a result of she had misplaced religion within the native district lawyer’s potential to deal with it.
The investigation initially was closed with out fees in 2024.
Final month, the girl filed a lawsuit and Tompkins County District Lawyer Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation. He has since been bombarded by criticism that he deserted the unique investigation too shortly.
The lawyer normal will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, current proof to a grand jury, Hochul mentioned.
“The younger lady on the heart of this case deserves to know that each truth can be examined and justice pursued,” she mentioned in a press release Thursday.
Van Houten did not instantly reply to Thursday messages looking for remark.
The case has roiled the Ivy League campus and raised questions on its response and the bigger challenge of how sexual assaults are dealt with on faculty campuses.
The lady, recognized solely as Jane Doe in court docket paperwork, instructed campus police in November of 2024 that she was sexually assaulted, then mentioned it with the college’s inside investigators as a part of Cornell’s disciplinary course of.
The lawsuit towards seven fraternity brothers, the college, the Chi Phi fraternity and others alleges that she was plied with medicine and alcohol, then subjected to sexual acts by a bunch of males whereas she was partially or completely incapacitated. One of many males despatched a social media message to different fraternity members alerting them to what was occurring, and alluring folks to participate, in keeping with the lawsuit.
Legal professionals for 2 of the boys she is suing have denied they participated in a sexual assault. One mentioned his consumer hadn’t touched the girl. Makes an attempt by The Related Press to achieve the opposite males or their representatives have been unsuccessful.
New York governors have turned to attorneys normal to supervise essential circumstances prior to now.
In 2018, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed then-Nassau County District Lawyer Madeline Singas as a particular prosecutor to research Eric Schneiderman, who resigned as New York lawyer normal after ladies accused him of violent slapping, choking and different abuse.
In 2021, James oversaw a non-criminal investigation into sexual harassment allegations towards then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, resulting in his resignation. Cuomo initially tried to decide on who would lead the investigation into the allegations. He then allowed James to decide on two impartial attorneys to steer it as a substitute.
James’ workplace additionally handles different felony work and has the facility below state regulation to research each dying involving regulation enforcement within the state. However, sometimes, she will be able to’t provoke felony investigations and not using a referral from a neighborhood district lawyer, the governor or a state company, or an appointment just like the one Hochul made Thursday.
