Transcript reveals Cornell accuser told police she was certain she was raped
A newly obtained transcript shows a woman who sued over an alleged sexual assault at a Cornell fraternity house told campus police she was “100% confident” she had been raped. The disclosure has raised questions about an earlier decision not to prosecute, while the district attorney says the investigation has been reopened.
A woman who filed a lawsuit alleging that seven men sexually assaulted her at a Cornell University fraternity house told campus police she could say with “100% confidence” that she was raped, according to a transcript obtained by CBS News New York. The transcript concerns interviews conducted in November 2024, several weeks after the alleged incident at the Chi Phi fraternity house. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, said the encounter began with two men and later involved others entering the room.
She told investigators that she had consumed alcohol and drugs and had gaps in her memory. According to the transcript, she said she had been “completely and totally incapacitated” before some of the alleged abuse and described being physically struck. The disclosure has renewed questions about the decision by Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten not to bring charges at the time.
Van Houten has said the woman’s initial account did not allege that she had been drugged, incapacitated beyond the ability to consent or forced into sex. Van Houten told CBS News that his office did not see the interview transcript when it declined to prosecute. He said prosecutors relied on a statement written by a campus police officer and signed by the accuser.
He has defended the decision, saying the statement was detailed and comprehensive. The woman filed her lawsuit on Sept. 16, alleging that fraternity members pressured her to use ketamine, smoke marijuana and drink alcohol before she became incapacitated.
Van Houten has since reopened the criminal investigation based on information in the lawsuit. Cornell suspended Chi Phi after the allegations became public and later formed a task force on sexual assault. The university said this week that its internal investigation resulted in some students being disciplined or expelled.
The fraternity remains barred from campus, while Cornell has withheld individual disciplinary details under privacy rules.
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