# Cornell student ignored after reporting gang rape > A sophomore reported being assaulted by Chi Phi fraternity members in 2024. The district attorney filed no charges. Now the case is being reinvestigated. - Title: Cornell student ignored after reporting gang rape · Vox - Summary: A sophomore reported being assaulted by Chi Phi fraternity members in 2024. The district attorney filed no charges. Now the case is being reinvestigated. A… - Keywords: cornell university, chi phi fraternity, sexual assault, gang rape, tompkins county district attorney, matthew van houten, letitia james, new york, criminal investigation, title ix, higher education, news - Source: Vox — https://vox.com/podcasts/504942/cornell-rape-case-explained - Author: Ariana Aspuru - Published: 2026-10-02T20:15:00+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: cornell university, chi phi fraternity, sexual assault, gang rape, tompkins county district attorney, matthew van houten, letitia james, new york, criminal investigation, title ix, higher education, news ## A student's night at the fraternity On October nineteen, twenty twenty-four, a twenty-year-old Cornell sophomore went to a bar on campus, then to the Chi Phi fraternity house to hang out with a friend. She was already intoxicated, having had about ten drinks in three hours. ## What she says happened At the fraternity house, a member pressured her into taking ketamine and marijuana and drinking more alcohol. She alleges two members assaulted her. One later sent a Snapchat message to active Chi Phi members inviting them to join in. Several did. ## Processing in silence In the weeks after, the student confided in a sorority member but did not initially use the words rape or assault. She saw rumors spreading on campus about what happened and received a text from one of the seven men apologizing for how things went down. ## Her thinking evolves By November third, twenty twenty-four, she concluded what happened was assault. She texted one of the seven men: "This was not consensual. I was given more ketamine than I can remember." Days later she went to the emergency room and requested a rape kit. > This was not consensual. I was given more ketamine than I can remember. ## She goes to police On November eighth, twenty twenty-four, she went to Cornell University Police. She told them she believed she was assaulted and said with absolute confidence: "I can say with one hundred percent confidence I was raped." > I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped. ## Police summarize her account Cornell University Police wrote a six-page statement summarizing what she told them. She signed it. That statement was then submitted to the Tompkins County District Attorney for a charging decision. ## The DA declines to prosecute The Tompkins County District Attorney decided not to bring charges in twenty twenty-four. He said he based this decision on the sworn statement the student signed to police, which he characterized as describing the encounter as voluntary, conscious and consensual. ## What the DA says he didn't see District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he did not see the Snapchat screenshot where fraternity members discussed the situation, nor did he see the transcript of the student's interview with Cornell Police before the lawsuit was filed. ## The governor's question New York Governor Kathy Hochul asked on Friday: "In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang raped while she was intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney?" > In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang raped while she was intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney? ## Cornell's disciplinary response Cornell said the seven men faced a range of disciplinary measures, including expulsions and suspensions. The university has not denied that some students were required to write essays as part of their discipline but denied this was the only measure imposed. ## She stays on campus After reporting to police and learning no charges would be filed, the student remained on campus and had to continue seeing some of these men. She participated in Cornell's Title IX investigation, which took place over several months and concluded at some point in twenty twenty-five. ## The men's response The seven men themselves have not publicly said anything. Lawyers for three of them have publicly denied the allegations. One lawyer says his client entered the room but immediately left and did not participate in the assault. ## The case is reopened The case has rocked the nation and forced a renewed reckoning over how sexual assault is dealt with in higher education. Prosecutors have reopened the criminal investigation. New York state Attorney General Letitia James has been assigned to oversee the case. ## Two paths forward The reopened criminal investigation is proceeding. Separately, the student filed a civil lawsuit last month against the university, the seven fraternity members, and the fraternity itself. The civil case is not dependent on how the criminal investigation goes. ## Key takeaway A Cornell student reported being gang raped by Chi Phi fraternity members in October twenty twenty-four, but the district attorney declined to press charges. The case has been reopened following public outcry and is now under investigation by New York state Attorney General Letitia James.