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A former Cornell University student filed a civil lawsuit on September 16, 2026, alleging that she was plied with alcohol, marijuana and ketamine at the Chi Phi fraternity house on October 19, 2024, before being gang raped by seven members while incapacitated and unable to consent, according to details in the complaint reported by The Washington Post. The woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, reported the incident to Cornell University police on November 8, 2024, but Tompkins County prosecutors initially declined to pursue criminal charges that year citing insufficient evidence from her statement. Cornell University conducted its own Title IX investigation that involved more than 50 interviews with 32 witnesses over several months and concluded with a range of sanctions against those involved.
The university barred the Chi Phi chapter from campus after placing it on temporary suspension the day the incident was reported, a measure that remains in effect, according to a statement from university spokesman Kyle Kimball. Two of the accused students were expelled, two others received suspensions of at least two semesters, one had already graduated, and two were found not responsible for sexual misconduct, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff told student government leaders on September 29, 2026. The university also launched a presidential task force on campus sexual assault shortly after the incident whose recommendations have been partially implemented, Kimball added in a subsequent statement.
Kotlikoff told the campus community that the university must do better in preventing and responding to such cases even as he defended the disciplinary outcomes imposed after the internal probe. In an announcement on its statements page, Cornell University detailed outcomes from its 2025 Survey of Sexual Assault and Related Misconduct that found 35 percent of undergraduate women reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact since entering the institution. That figure represented an increase from 23 percent in the 2023 survey, with alcohol involved in more than half of the reported incidents and many occurring in campus residence halls or fraternity houses.
Figures from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network place the prevalence of rape or sexual assault at 26.4 percent among undergraduate women and 6.8 percent among undergraduate men involving physical force, violence or incapacitation. A separate RAINN assessment found that 13 percent of all college students experience rape or sexual assault, with college-age women facing the highest risk between the ages of 18 and 24. The Cornell survey also noted that 23 percent of students who experienced nonconsensual contact in 2025 contacted a formal resource, up from 11 percent in 2023, though many still viewed their experiences as not serious enough to report.
The filing of the lawsuit drew national attention and prompted Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten to announce on September 28, 2026, that his office would reopen the criminal investigation and present evidence to a grand jury, according to a timeline compiled by CNN. New York Governor Kathy Hochul described the original police and prosecutorial handling as deeply flawed and appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to lead an independent investigation, a move both the district attorney and the university said they support. James’ office has since opened its own criminal probe into the allegations and will provide updates as they become available.
Court documents unsealed this week show that at least one fraternity member is appealing the university’s disciplinary action in an effort to clear his record, Reuters reported from the filings. The lawsuit also names the fraternity, the woman’s sorority, a local bar and Cornell itself as defendants, seeking unspecified damages. Van Houten had previously acknowledged that additional evidence gathered by campus police after the woman’s initial statement was not reviewed before the initial decision not to charge.
The case has fueled broader questions about how universities and law enforcement handle sexual assault reports on campus, with Hochul stating she wants the full truth uncovered and will not allow the matter to be swept aside. Cornell has maintained that it takes sexual violence extremely seriously and that any claim it imposed only minimal consequences is false, according to Kimball’s statements. The fraternity chapter at the center of the allegations has remained closed since late 2024.
