Fact check separates evidence from online claims in Cornell sexual-assault case
An Associated Press review found that several online claims about a 2024 sexual-assault allegation involving Cornell students were false or misleading. The district attorney reopened the criminal investigation after a lawsuit, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed the state attorney general as special prosecutor.
A fact check has challenged several online claims about a 2024 sexual-assault allegation involving students at Cornell University, while criminal and civil proceedings remain active. The woman revived the allegations in a lawsuit filed last month against seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, Cornell and others. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten then reopened the criminal investigation after initially declining to prosecute.
The review found it misleading to say that the woman never told police she had been raped. According to a transcript obtained by CBS News, she told campus police that she had initially consented to a sexual encounter with two men but was not comfortable when other men entered the room. She also said she had been incapacitated before some of the alleged abuse and described the incident as rape.
The woman acknowledged drinking alcohol and using drugs that night, and said she had gaps in her memory. She also alleged that at least one man hit her. Several men have denied engaging in non-consensual sex or said they did not touch her.
The fact check found false the claim that Cornell failed to follow up. The university suspended Chi Phi, which remains barred from campus, and conducted an investigation involving interviews with 32 witnesses, 12 days of hearings and a 99-page report. Officials said some students were expelled or suspended, but did not provide details because of privacy laws.
It was also misleading to say the university’s only punishment was requiring essays. Cornell said some students were expelled, while essay and class requirements applied to people found not responsible for sexual assault but disciplined for other conduct. Van Houten has said he relied on a police summary signed by the woman and did not receive the full interview transcript.
He said the summary did not include her statement that she was sure she had been sexually assaulted. Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed New York’s attorney general as special prosecutor.
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