DA did not review statements and other evidence collected in alleged rape of Cornell student
NBC News · LC · trust 31/100
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said he based his decision not to pursue charges on the accuser’s initial six-page statement given to police.
Investigators from the campus police department documented those witness interviews and other steps taken to determine whether Jane Doe, a 20-year-old woman who reported the incident, was the victim of sexual assault during a party at the Chi Phi house from Oct. 19 to 20, 2024, according police records obtained by NBC News.
Documents reviewed by NBC News offer the most thorough look to date at how police handled the allegations from Jane Doe, who last month filed a lawsuit against Cornell University and seven Chi Phi brothers who she alleges sexually assaulted her over the course of hours while she was under the influence of ketamine, alcohol and marijuana.
Van Houten, along with police and university officials, has come under intense fire for their handling of the matter. Jane Doe’s attorney has argued that she was failed by authorities who did not conduct a thorough investigation and who prejudged the events based on her earlier statement that she consented to parts of the night.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced the appointment of Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to consider whether charges are appropriate.
“In what world does the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript” of the victim’s interview, Hochul asked Friday at a news conference announcing James’s appointment.
On Nov. 25, 2024, a police investigator approached Van Houten’s office to tell them about interviews they’d done.
An investigator in Van Houten’s office, according to the documents, replied that “he and several [attorneys] at the District Attorney’s Office had read [Jane Doe’s] statement … [and] stated that they all agreed that, based on [Jane Doe’s] statement, criminal charges would not be pursued in this case.”
Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., on Friday. Heather Ainsworth for NBC News Van Houten defended his decision Monday and said that Jane Doe’s statement did not allege criminality. He also agreed to reopen his inquiry before that role was assigned to the attorney general.
When reached for comment by email Friday, Van Houten argued “there was nothing to review” in that discussion with police because the interviews flagged “were each of the frat members declining to speak on the advice of their attorney.”
Van Houten did not respond to a follow-up request asking whether he was told about interviews with other fraternity members in addition to tips from callers.
FOR SUBSCRIBERS Walmart’s quest for market share expands with a new, bohemian fashion brand FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘It’s not enough to not rape somebody’: How parents are talking to kids about Cornell allegations FOR SUBSCRIBERS Love is a casualty of war: How Russia’s invasion is killing Ukraine’s birthrate FOR SUBSCRIBERS High-profile special prosecutor takes over Cornell investigation FOR SUBSCRIBERS More than 10,000 ICE officers to receive additional training to reduce violent encounters FOR SUBSCRIBERS Kremlin critic and chess champion Garry Kasparov said FBI warned his life was in danger FOR SUBSCRIBERS Tom Cruise takes on a new mission: Selling ‘Digger’ FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘I am Jane Doe’: Cornell case spurs women to share their experiences of sexual assault on campus FOR SUBSCRIBERS A sluggish Congress punts a long list of tasks until after the election FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘Some of the medication has worn off’: Witness recalls failed Tennessee execution of Christa Pike FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘Couldn’t let all of them die’: Hero Indian pilot attacked midair speaks for first time FOR SUBSCRIBERS How Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rights FOR SUBSCRIBERS Cornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight FOR SUBSCRIBERS Judge guts noncitizen voting law used in Trump administration’s election push FOR SUBSCRIBERS Trump to campaign in at least 17 states ahead of the midterms For Subscribers FOR SUBSCRIBERS Walmart’s quest for market share expands with a new, bohemian fashion brand FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘It’s not enough to not rape somebody’: How parents are talking to kids about Cornell allegations FOR SUBSCRIBERS Love is a casualty of war: How Russia’s invasion is killing Ukraine’s birthrate FOR SUBSCRIBERS High-profile special prosecutor takes over Cornell investigation FOR SUBSCRIBERS More than 10,000 ICE officers to receive additional training to reduce violent encounters FOR SUBSCRIBERS Kremlin critic and chess champion Garry Kasparov said FBI warned his life was in danger FOR SUBSCRIBERS Tom Cruise takes on a new mission: Selling ‘Digger’ FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘I am Jane Doe’: Cornell case spurs women to share their experiences of sexual assault on campus FOR SUBSCRIBERS A sluggish Congress punts a long list of tasks until after the election FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘Some of the medication has worn off’: Witness recalls failed Tennessee execution of Christa Pike FOR SUBSCRIBERS ‘Couldn’t let all of them die’: Hero Indian pilot attacked midair speaks for first time FOR SUBSCRIBERS How Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rights FOR SUBSCRIBERS Cornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight FOR SUBSCRIBERS Judge guts noncitizen voting law used in Trump administration’s election push FOR SUBSCRIBERS Trump to campaign in at least 17 states ahead of the midterms The records also show that police were receiving fragments of a larger Snapchat thread where one member of the group announced there was “free p----” in the alumni room of the house, where Jane Doe engaged in what she said was initially a consensual threesome.
“Similarly there was no material obtained by CUPD from Snapchat (what was provided came from a witness),” Van Houten added. “So again nothing to review.”
It was unclear…
Read the original at NBC News →
Open in TruthVane →