{"id":226379,"date":"2026-10-03T02:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-says-jane-doe-in-cornell-case-was-failed-by-the-system-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T02:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T02:26:20","slug":"new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-says-jane-doe-in-cornell-case-was-failed-by-the-system-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/new-york-gov-kathy-hochul-says-jane-doe-in-cornell-case-was-failed-by-the-system-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says Jane Doe in Cornell case was \u2018failed\u2019 by the system – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

For You
Settings
news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she believes the former Cornell University student<\/a> who alleges she was gang raped by fraternity members in 2024 was \u201cfailed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her,\u201d including a county prosecutor.
\u201cI will not allow anyone to sweep this case under the rug,\u201d Hochul told reporters at a Friday morning news conference in New York City.
Hochul, reading from prepared remarks, confirmed that she has appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James<\/a> to carry out a \u201cfresh and thorough review\u201d of all the facts in the case <\/strong>nearly two years after a district attorney declined to pursue criminal charges.
\u201cWe will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions,\u201d James said at the news conference. \u201cI know that you want answers. I do, too.\u201d
Hochul said she believes Cornell University did not provide enough information about the accuser\u2019s account of the alleged sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. Hochul also faulted Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten for not doing a more comprehensive investigation.
\u201cIn what world does the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript\u201d of Jane Doe\u2019s interview with Cornell University campus police, Hochul said.
\u201cThis woman, this young woman, had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable,\u201d Hochul added.
In a statement after Hochul\u2019s news conference, Van Houten said he supported James\u2019 appointment, adding: \u201cI trust that she will examine the facts and apply the law.
\u201cIt has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the University,\u201d Van Houten said. \u201cThe focus has been and should continue to be on the victims. My office will cooperate fully with the Attorney General.\u201d
Hochul said she backs proposed changes to current New York state law, which makes it difficult for a person who has voluntarily consumed alcohol or drugs to seek criminal justice for an alleged sexual assault.
\u201cVoluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,\u201d Hochul told reporters. \u201cI support closing this loophole, and will work with the New York state Legislature to accomplish this.\u201d
The accuser, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, reported the alleged assault to university police in November 2024, about three weeks after she said it took place, according to a civil lawsuit. The Ivy League university then sent a sworn statement to Van Houten\u2019s office.
Van Houten\u2019s office \u201cdetermined the alleged facts as set forth in the statement do not constitute a crime,\u201d the district attorney has said. In a lengthy statement Monday, Van Houten said the sworn statement Jane Doe provided to campus police \u201cdid not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.\u201d
But news reports have since complicated that characterization. CBS News New York<\/a>, citing a transcript of a conversation between Jane Doe and investigators, reported Wednesday that she told campus police: \u201cI can say with 100% confidence I was raped.
NBC News has not independently verified the transcript.
Jane Doe\u2019s lawsuit names seven fraternity members as defendants. It also accuses the fraternity, her sorority and a bar she visited on the night of the alleged assault of negligence.
The national Chi Phi organization has called the sexual assault allegations at Cornell University \u201cdeeply concerning,\u201d and the sorority said it could not comment on pending litigation. The bar denied serving alcohol to Jane Doe, who was under the legal drinking age at the time. <\/strong>Cornell has defended its 2024 investigation.
In response to a request for comment on Hochul\u2019s news conference, a Cornell spokesperson said: \u201cWe fully support the appointment of a special prosecutor and efforts to change New York State\u2019s rape law and are committed to an independent external review of all aspects of how Cornell has handled this case.\u201d
The case has drawn extensive news coverage and wide attention on social media. Hollywood celebrities such as Oscar-nominated actor Florence Pugh and \u201cLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit\u201d star Mariska Hargitay highlighted Jane Doe\u2019s lawsuit on Instagram.
\u201cThis is a human issue, not a women\u2019s issue,\u201d Pugh wrote in an Instagram post Sunday. \u201cWe are all involved.\u201d
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the <\/em>National Sexual Assault Hotline<\/em><\/a> at <\/em>1-800-656-4673<\/em><\/a>. 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 https:\/\/www.rainn.org\/get-help.<\/em>
Daniel Arkin is a senior reporter at NBC News.
I\u2019m a reporter on NBC News\u2019 breaking news team, covering crime, extreme weather, pop culture and more. I recently covered Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa, Florida, metropolitan area, and the student-led protests at Columbia University.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For YouSettings news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she believes the former Cornell University student who alleges she was gang raped by fraternity members in 2024 was \u201cfailed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her,\u201d including a county prosecutor.\u201cI will not allow anyone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":226380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-226379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}