New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, appointing state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of an October 2024 sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity house. The order removes the case from the jurisdiction of Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. Governor Hochul and Attorney General James were scheduled to hold a joint press briefing on the matter Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
The appointment follows renewed attention to the 2024 incident involving the Chi Phi fraternity. The case was initially closed without criminal charges, but Van Houten reopened the probe last month after a woman, identified as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against Cornell and seven men. Hochul stated that newly released information raised questions regarding the initial investigation by Cornell Police and the local district attorney’s decision not to prosecute, leading to a loss of public and executive confidence in the local office.
The lawsuit alleges the woman was drugged and raped by multiple men at the fraternity house. While internal university investigations resulted in the expulsion or suspension of some students, the district attorney's office originally cited insufficient evidence for criminal charges. Attorneys for two of the accused men have denied the allegations, and a lawyer for a third man has publicly denied another client's wrongdoing. Cornell University issued a statement supporting the governor's decision to assign the case to the Attorney General's Office.
This executive order shifts the legal authority over the investigation from a locally elected district attorney to the state’s chief law enforcement officer. The move affects the seven men named in the lawsuit and the student identified as Jane Doe, as Attorney General James now has the power to present new evidence to a grand jury for potential criminal indictments. The governor stated the transition to a special prosecutor is necessary to ensure the probe is conducted without conflict or bias.
Students and community members at Cornell are also affected by the institutional response to the case. During a recent campus forum, the Student Assembly passed resolutions seeking increased transparency, changes to orientation programs regarding consent, and free counseling for survivors. The university has confirmed it will cooperate with an independent review of its response to the allegations.
The investigation by the Attorney General’s Office is immediate, though no specific deadline for findings or grand jury presentations was reported. The Tompkins County District Attorney had already begun a renewed review last month, which will now be superseded by the state’s efforts. The civil lawsuit filed by Jane Doe remains active in court alongside the newly launched criminal probe. Attorney General James stated her office is prepared to lead a process guided by facts and the law, though the duration of the investigation was not specified.
Attorney General James will begin a review of the 2024 evidence and the Cornell Police Department's initial conduct. If the investigation finds sufficient grounds, the office will present evidence to a grand jury to seek criminal charges. The governor and attorney general were scheduled to provide further details during their briefing on Friday, Oct. 2. No court dates for the civil lawsuit were listed in the reports.