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06 – Campus Crime

 Cornell fraternity rape case is reopened, as Hochul calls for review of school response.


New York prosecutors reopen investigations into an alleged gang rape case in 2024. This comes after the alleged victim filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. She claims she was drugged and brutally raped by multiple men over the course of several hours at Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024.

District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced that efforts are underway to reexamine the case. Gov. Kathy Hochul says the case is “nothing short of horrifying”. Following the news, Cornell released a statement, defending how they handled the case. They said, "A panel of trainers, faculty, and staff heard evidence for several days, issuing expulsions and suspensions. No criminal charges were filed.

    The victim is suing the alleged seven rapists, Cornell, her sorority, and the nightclub that served her alcohol as a minor the night of the attack. The lawsuit goes into detail about the alleged attack, showing Snapchat messages between members of Chi Phi inviting others to participate in the assault.  The alleged rapists pressured the victim to partake in multiple drugs and alcohol. After doing drugs, two men then began assaulting her orally and vaginally "all without her consent," the lawsuit says. Another member of the fraternity entered the room, grabbed her and started kissing her, while the second student groped her. The two men then started assaulting her— again without her consent, the lawsuit alleges.

Former student Kate Martins says that despite Cornell claiming to hold the parties involved accountable, the culture of drugs and violence is still prevalent on campus. "It was normalized to experience violence. It was normalized to worry about being drugged," she says. Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo, an alumnus of Cornell,  called for an immediate moratorium on student group activities until Cornell reviews its protocols for preventing and prosecuting sexual violence and publicly releases new guidelines. 

(NPR)


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