Tompkins County prosecutors have reopened the criminal investigation into allegations that seven Cornell University fraternity members drugged and gang-raped a female student in 2024, nearly two years after declining charges, with the case now headed to a grand jury.
District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office is reconsidering criminal charges after a civil lawsuit filed this month presented allegations he described as “dramatically different” from the account prosecutors reviewed in 2024. He also acknowledged that his office relied on the Cornell University Police investigation at the time rather than conducting a separate investigation.
The former student, identified as Jane Doe, sued Cornell, seven current and former members of Chi Phi and other defendants over the alleged Oct. 19, 2024 assault. She says fraternity members pressured her to consume drugs and alcohol before multiple men sexually assaulted her while she was severely impaired.
According to Van Houten, Doe’s original sworn statement described some of the drug use and sexual activity that night as voluntary, conscious, and consensual. Her civil complaint alleges she became incapacitated and was unable to consent as the assaults continued over several hours.
Van Houten said he considers Doe credible and acknowledged that sexual assault survivors may take time to process what occurred. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, disputes the district attorney’s characterization of the earlier account and says Doe never received the type of follow-up interview typically used to investigate sexual assault allegations.
The renewed inquiry will also examine evidence prosecutors say was missing from their first review. Van Houten said his office never received a screenshot from a Snapchat group called “Chi Phi Actives” that appears in the civil complaint and allegedly captures a fraternity member inviting others upstairs during the incident.
Giuffra says authorities received the Snapchat material in 2024 and has described it as critical evidence supporting Doe’s account. Prosecutors are also seeking records from Cornell’s separate Title IX investigation as they reassess the evidence collected after Doe reported the incident.
Cornell said Monday that it supports presenting the case to a criminal grand jury. Vice President for University Relations Kyle Kimball said the university conducted a months-long Title IX investigation followed by a hearing in which a panel of trained faculty and staff considered evidence over several days.
That process resulted in expulsions and suspensions, according to Cornell, which has not disclosed how many students received each sanction. The university said no student was assigned an essay as the sole consequence of involvement. Doe’s lawsuit alleges some of the accused were allowed to submit essays to mitigate their conduct.
The Chi Phi chapter, which closed in 2024, remains barred from Cornell’s campus.
Jeremy Saland, who represents Scott Kretzschmar, continues to dispute the allegations against his client and says Kretzschmar never sexually assaulted or touched Doe. Scott Norris has also denied participating in sexual activity or drug use during the incident while acknowledging that he sent a Snapchat message and briefly entered the room.
Under New York law, a grand jury may return an indictment when legally sufficient evidence supports the elements of an offense and gives jurors reasonable cause to believe the accused committed it. An indictment would allow prosecutors to pursue criminal charges in court, where guilt would ultimately have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Van Houten said he hopes to present the case within about 45 days, setting up the first potential criminal charging decision since prosecutors closed the matter in 2024. Doe’s civil lawsuit against Cornell, Chi Phi and the seven men continues separately in New York state court.
