Hochul appoints Letitia James as special prosecutor in Cornell gang-rape case
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the Cornell "Cornell 7" gang-rape investigation, issuing an executive order after saying she lost faith in the Tompkins County district attorney's handling of the case.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the criminal investigation into the alleged 2024 gang rape of a Cornell University student by seven Chi Phi fraternity members.
“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” Hochul said in a statement on Thursday evening.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time,” she said, adding she had issued an executive order appointing James as special prosecutor: “As special prosecutor, the Attorney General will investigate this incident and, if warranted, prosecute any offenses arising from that investigation and present evidence to a grand jury.”
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” Hochul added, promising the case would be “fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias”.
The move follows new reporting: CNN obtained Snapchat messages from during the alleged assault, the New York Times reported documents from Cornell’s Title IX investigation, and a Nov 14, 2024 interview transcript emerged in which the accuser said “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped” — unseen by the DA’s office before it declined charges, Van Houten told CNN. Cornell told CNN it supports the decision.
It follows the DA’s announcement that he was reopening the case and taking it to a grand jury, after the accuser — identified in court papers only as Jane Doe — filed a Sept 16 civil lawsuit.
Sources
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