{"id":225973,"date":"2026-09-29T14:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/district-attorney-defends-past-decision-not-to-seek-criminal-charges-in-cornell-rape-allegations-nbcnews-com\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T14:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:46:15","slug":"district-attorney-defends-past-decision-not-to-seek-criminal-charges-in-cornell-rape-allegations-nbcnews-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/district-attorney-defends-past-decision-not-to-seek-criminal-charges-in-cornell-rape-allegations-nbcnews-com\/","title":{"rendered":"District attorney defends past decision not to seek criminal charges in Cornell rape allegations – nbcnews.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Outrage has been building nationwide<\/a> over the handling of an alleged sexual assault at Cornell University two years ago, prompting prosecutors to announce they are taking a new look at the case while defending their past decision not to seek criminal charges.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a statement Monday that his office is considering whether to bring criminal charges related to a 2024 incident at the Chi Phi fraternity house.
In a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month, a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe alleges she was sexually assaulted, raped and plied with drugs by seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers at the on-campus fraternity house the evening of Oct. 19 and into Oct. 20, 2024. The fraternity chapter was subsequently barred from campus, but no one was criminally charged. According to the lawsuit, some of the students were able to \u201cmitigate their conduct\u201d by writing essays to the university.
Van Houten said in a statement that he was reopening the investigation into the alleged sexual assault and asked a senior prosecutor to prepare a case for a grand jury. That grand jury will be able to consider Jane Doe\u2019s testimony, as well as any new evidence from the civil complaint.
He expects the process to take about 45 days, he told NBC News.
\u201cWhile I generally refrain from commenting publicly on criminal investigations, the community outrage stemming from the incomplete news and social media coverage requires that I provide an answer to why the investigation resulted in a lack of criminal charges,\u201d he said in the statement.
Van Houten defended his office\u2019s decision not to seek criminal charges at the time, saying that in a November 2024 statement Doe did not allege that she was gang-raped or drugged against her will. \u201cOn the contrary, Jane Doe\u2019s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual,\u201d he wrote, adding that Doe\u2019s attorneys never reached out to him before filing the civil lawsuit two years later.
Speaking to NBC News on Monday, Van Houten said the alleged attack was \u201cvile\u201d and \u201cdisrespectful to women,\u201d<\/a> and said his office would consider any new evidence vigorously.
\u201cIt was disgusting, and that emotion that you feel, seeing and hearing what happened, even hearing what happened as described by Jane Doe\u2019s statement, it provokes feelings of disgust and distaste,\u201d he said.
\u201cThat\u2019s not enough to prosecute someone criminally, but if there is evidence out there, including new evidence, that is enough to prosecute these individuals, then we will do that,\u201d he went on. \u201cWe will do it zealously.\u201d
Thomas P. Giuffra, the attorney for Jane Doe, said that in the days following the assault, his client was \u201ctraumatized, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened.\u201d
\u201cShe was a young woman who went to Cornell with high hopes, thought that this was her dream come true, and then that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d Thomas P. Giuffra told NBC News on Monday. \u201cNow she\u2019s not in college. She\u2019s not pursuing her goals, and she\u2019s just trying to hang on.\u201d
Giuffra said Doe went to the Cornell University Police Department \u201conce she was emotionally ready\u201d because she believed she was the victim of a crime, but that \u201cshe was never spoken with by anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint.\u201d
Doe said in a written statement Monday that when she started college at Cornell, she was full of hope and believed she would receive a good education.
\u201cWhat I experienced from those who raped me in the fraternity was the worst experience of my life. I was brutalized and it injured me physically but perhaps more importantly, emotionally,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to recover from this trauma but it is extremely difficult. It affects every aspect of my life. It will haunt me and be part of me the rest of my life.\u201d
Giuffra said if multiple interviews had taken place, leads and more evidence could have been obtained. He said a group chat that was shared anonymously with Doe, a screenshot from which was included in the lawsuit, had multiple comments from fraternity members. In one comment, a fraternity member said there was \u201cfree p—\u201d available upstairs where Jane Doe was.
\u201cThis thread was a valuable starting point to identify witnesses and possibly other assailants,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, it was never followed up on.\u201d
NBC News reached out to Ithaca police to ask about their involvement in the case but did not immediately receive a response. The Ithaca Police Department is actively investigating the allegations, according to the civil lawsuit. Cornell Police referred NBC News to previous statements issued by the university defending how it handled the allegations.
The district attorney said it was not the role of his office to \u201cconduct parallel independent investigations of cases alongside police investigations\u201d and that police investigate crimes while the district attorney\u2019s office prosecutes them.
The lawsuit names seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity \u201cfor the sexual assault and rape of\u201d Doe. The attorney for one of the accused men, Scott Kretzschmar, strongly denied the accusations and said his client welcomed the new investigation.
\u201cThe lawsuit against Scott Kretzachmar is not only intentionally dishonest but morally repugnant,\u201d attorney Jeremy Saland said in a statement. \u201cWhile Scott responded to and made an immature comment on Snapchat, he did nothing else. Nothing.\u201d
NBC News attempted to contact the six others named in the lawsuit but was not immediately able to reach them or did not receive a response.
Giuffra, Doe\u2019s attorney, said reopening the case was a step in the right direction, \u201calbeit a late one.\u201d
Cornell University said Monday it supports the Tompkins County district attorney\u2019s decision to have the case heard before a criminal grand jury. The statement pushed back on the suggestion that those involved in the incident faced few consequences at the time, revealing that the university\u2019s Title IX proceedings resulted in a range of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions.
\u201cAny suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,\u201d Kyle Kimball, Cornell\u2019s vice president for university relations, said in the statement.
Cornell said that its Title IX investigation lasted several months and included temporary suspensions while the case was pending. A panel of faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days before imposing sanctions, the university said in a statement.
The lawsuit accuses Cornell University of negligence in failing to protect Doe, then a 20-year-old student, when she was in the university\u2019s custody, failing to prevent the alleged sexual abuse on its campus and failing to supervise students.
In its statement earlier this month, the university said it launched the Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault shortly after the incident and implemented recommendations to address sexual assault on campus.
Cornell said in its statement that \u201cnone of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement. In addition, the involved fraternity chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.\u201d
According to the lawsuit, Doe was a member of Tri Delta National\u2019s Alpha Beta Chapter and lived in the campus sorority house at the time of the alleged assault.
The evening of Oct. 19, Jane Doe drank to the point of intoxication at her sorority house on campus before attending a social event her sorority was hosting at Moonies Bar & Nightclub in downtown Ithaca, the suit states.
The lawsuit states that she left with other sorority sisters around 10 p.m., went to another bar and then went alone to the Chi Phi fraternity house on campus, where the alleged sexual assault took place, to meet one of the members, who is described as her friend.
The suit accuses the Chi Phi Chapter, Chi Phi National, the Alpha Beta Chapter, Tri-Delta National and Moonies Bar & Nightclub of negligence.
The Chi Phi National fraternity in a statement Sept. 18 called the sexual assault allegations at Cornell University \u201cdeeply concerning.\u201d
\u201cWe are aware of the lawsuit concerning an alleged incident in 2024,\u201d the fraternity said in the statement. \u201cWhile we cannot discuss the specific allegations during pending litigation, we take this matter seriously. Our responsibility is to approach this with care for those affected and respect for a fair legal process.\u201d
Tri Delta and the Alpha Beta Chapter at Cornell said in a statement Sunday that the sorority doesn\u2019t comment on pending litigation and that they support women and victims of sexual violence.
The lawsuit also accuses Moonies of unlawfully selling alcohol to an intoxicated person or minor.
Moonies said in a statement Sept. 21 that it hosted a private event for the Tri Delta sorority on Oct. 19 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. but denied serving the victim alcohol because she was underage. The bar said that the victim was employed with the bar from February to March 2025, during which time \u201cshe openly discussed the details of the October incident.\u201d
The statement from the bar expressed sympathy for Doe. \u201cHowever, she never mentioned being intoxicated or served alcohol by Moonies\u2019 bartender,\u201d it added.
Public outrage over the allegations in the lawsuit escalated over the weekend, culminating in the district attorney\u2019s statement announcing the case would be reopened and sent to a grand jury.
Van Houten said in his statement Monday that after the lawsuit he reached out to Doe\u2019s attorneys to understand the discrepancy between Doe\u2019s original statement and the lawsuit \u201cand the proper path forward in light of the lawsuit\u2019s allegations.\u201d
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. The hotline, run by the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN), can put you in contact with your local rape crisis center. You can also access RAINN\u2019s online chat service at rainn.org\/get-help.<\/em>
Daniella Silva is a national reporter for NBC News, focusing on immigration.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Pilar Melendez is a news editor for NBC News Digital who has spent the last decade covering crime, justice, and national news.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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