Tompkins County DA's office declined to review additional material on 'gang rape' case from Cornell PD, docs show

Before deciding a then-20-year-old Cornell student's allegation she had been gang raped did not warrant criminal charges, the Tompkins County district attorney's office declined to review material gathered by university police other than a six-page summary of the woman's statements, documents reviewed by ABC News show.

On Nov. 25, 2024, more than a month after a woman now known as Jane Doe alleged she was attacked at the Chi Phi fraternity house, Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) investigator Jeffrey Northrup contacted an investigator at the Tompkins County DA's office to inform him of "interviews that had been conducted by this department after I interviewed [Jane Doe]," according to a note memorializing the call.

By that time, investigators had run down anonymous tips, interviewed witnesses and contacted attorneys hired by the accused, the documents show.

They had also issued so-called "persona non grata" notices to several of the fraternity brothers, informing them their presence was no longer welcome in parts of campus.

According to Northrup, documents show, prosecutors did not plan to pursue criminal charges.

Instead, Northrup wrote that the investigator at the district attorney's office "informed me that he and several Attorney's at the District Attorney's Office had read [Jane Doe's] statement" and "stated that they all agreed that, based on [her] statement, criminal charges would not be pursued in this case."

That the DA's office declined to review additional interview transcripts was first reported by The New York Times.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul accused the district attorney Friday of not doing the "bare minimum," removed him from the case and named New York Attorney General Letitia James special prosecutor.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he supported the decision and pointed to Cornell.

"It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the University," Van Houten said in a statement.

After Jane Doe went to campus police, authorities memorialized her first account: "A female undergraduate student reported that she was recently raped by 8-10 men at the Chi Phi fraternity house," the documents show.

The language did not appear in the condensed version prepared by university police and given to the DA, according to a copy obtained by ABC News.

Hochul faulted the Cornell University Police Department for providing an incomplete narrative.

"They were the first ones to be able to interview and have their questions answered and let this young woman tell her story. Them sending a partial record over is in my judgment, a failure," Hochul said during a news conference Friday.

Van Houten previously defended the decision not to pursue criminal charges, saying the woman's statement, as he received it, did not allege nonconsensual sexual activity as defined by New York law.

"If the allegations do not set forth the elements of criminal conduct under the New York State Penal Law even if we assume them to be true, we obviously cannot advise the police that criminal charges are appropriate," Van Houten said in a statement.

"Furthermore, we obviously do not advise the police to change the facts or to get a witness to change his or her statement so that someone can be charged with a crime. It goes without saying that doing so would be blatantly improper and unethical," the statement added.

University president: 'Must do better'

The university said in a statement that it fully supports "the appointment of the special prosecutor and efforts to change New York State's rape law and are committed to an independent external review of all aspects of how Cornell has handled this case."

Later Saturday, the university released a videotaped message from Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff. After "one of the most difficult weeks in our history," Kotlikoff said the university "must do better."

"What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come. My heart aches when I think of what she experienced. It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use," Kotlikoff said in the message.

"We must do everything we can to prevent what happened to Jane Doe, and everyone before her, and anyone after her, from ever happening again," he said.

Kotlikoff promised this "will not be a moment that passes."  Rather he called the alleged rape of Jane Doe "a defining moment" for Cornell and pledged to take "every step necessary to make Cornell an institution that leads not just in what we say about these issues, but in the work we do to address them."

Kotlikoff said the university's board of trustees will announce next week which outside law firm will conduct an independent review of Cornell's handling of Jane Doe's allegations.

"We must have systems that are trauma-informed and provide survivors the services they need. We must also investigate allegations rigorously and fairly, including providing due process," Kotlikoff said.

"I also hear the frustration that Cornell has not communicated enough about what the university did after the assault was reported, which has led to distrust. There are real legal and privacy limits on what we can say. But we will make a greater effort to explain what we can, to provide context about the actions Cornell has taken, and to be more transparent."