- Published
New York state prosecutors have reopened an investigation into the alleged rape of a woman at Cornell University in 2024.
asserted
prosecutors → publish → 2024
The woman filed a civil lawsuit against the Ivy League university on 16 September alleging she was drugged and raped at a fraternity house at the university.
She also alleged that Cornell failed to protect her or adequately punish the men involved.
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Cornell → file → men
The men have been dubbed the "Cornell Seven" and the woman was identified as Jane Doe in court filings.
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woman → dub → filings
Cornell has said it supported presenting the case to a grand jury, while rejecting as "false" claims that it failed to punish those involved.
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it → say → those
Here's what we know about the case.
What does the woman allege?
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woman → know → What
In a 101-page civil lawsuit, the woman alleged that on the night of 19 October 2024, seven men from Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity chapter allegedly assaulted her for hours in an incident involving alcohol and the drug ketamine.
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men → allege → alcohol
Jane Doe said in her lawsuit that she was intoxicated during the alleged incident and incapable of providing consent.
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she → say → consent
She says she left her sorority sisters after drinking that night and "stumbled alone" to the Chi Phi fraternity house in the city of Ithaca to see a male friend.
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she → say → friend
The lawsuit alleges sexual assault and battery, negligence, breach of contract and violations of New York's Human Rights Law.
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lawsuit → allege → Law
It was filed against the university, fraternity sorority and men involved in the alleged attack.
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It → file → attack
The lawsuit contains an image purported to be from a fraternity group chat in which a participant alerted other members, in vulgar terms, to the potential for a sexual encounter with Jane Doe.
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participant → contain → Doe
Her lawyer has said she was "traumatised, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened" in the days after the assault, which she reported to Cornell University Police on 8 November 2024.
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she → say → November
The outrage in recent weeks grew when Jane Doe alleged in her lawsuit that the men were "afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays".
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men → grow → essays
Doe's lawyer has said two of those involved were expelled.
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two → say → those
The university newspaper's editorial board published the names of the defendants in the lawsuit on 21 September in a piece titled "Cornell Won't, We Will", fuelling a social media outcry.
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We → publish → outcry
The Cornell University Police Department provided an image of the Snapchat group, titled Chi Phi Actives, to prosecutors as evidence in November 2024, the university said.
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university → provide → November
The members are named in the chat and discuss a "free" sexual encounter with Jane Doe, using coarse language, just before 02:00 local time on 20 October 2024.
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members → name → October
CBS News New York has also published excerpts of additional text messages reportedly exchanged between one of the defendants and a woman who appears to be the person who made the allegations.
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who → publish → allegations
The messages were reportedly sent two days after the alleged assault.
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messages → send → assault
In one of the messages, one of the men appeared to apologise for "how things went down".
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things → appear → men
He said his memory was "kinda fuzzy", and that he and another man felt bad for being too intoxicated to "shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand".
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it → say → hand
The woman in the text chain replied saying her memory was "super clouded too" and that they were all intoxicated.
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they → reply → chain
She also wrote that "non(e) of the sexual stuff was illegal", that she liked being with him and another man.
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she → write → him
Doe suggested they smoke together again, but leave out "the extra 5 billion men and ketamine".
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they → suggest → men
How did Cornell respond?
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Cornell → respond → ?
The woman said she reported the incident to Cornell University Police two weeks after it took place.
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it → say → place
Shortly after, Cornell University issued a public statement regarding the "serious and deeply disturbing allegations of drug abuse and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house".
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University → issue → house
It said that the campus police department was investigating and that it had suspended the local chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity, as well as "a number of students".
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it → say → students
Cornell also said it had opened an internal investigation as well as a civil rights inquiry under the Title IX law, which bars sex discrimination in schools that receive funding from the federal government, including most universities.
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that → say → universities
Following the new lawsuit, the university disputed Jane Doe's allegation that it did not adequately investigate or punish the alleged perpetrators.
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it → follow → perpetrators
The university said in a statement that the matter was referred to a "panel of trained faculty and staff" that issued "a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell".
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which → say → Cornell
Cornell did not deny that the punishment for some of those involved included writing an essay.
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punishment → deny → essay
But it said: "None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement."
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None → say → involvement
In a statement on Tuesday, Cornell said "temporary suspensions and other restrictive measures" were issued when the conduct was reported.
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conduct → say → Tuesday
It also said the events that took place on its campus in 2024 "were appalling then and remain so now".
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that → say → 2024
"We are doing all we can to foster a culture where sexual misconduct is never tolerated," it said.
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it → do → culture
The Xi Chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
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Chapter → close → campus
Why is the case being reopened?
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case → reopen → ?
The county's top prosecutor said on Monday that his office would reopen a criminal inquiry into the alleged rape.
Once appropriate charges were determined, the case would be prosecuted "in the most objective and impartial means possible" through a grand jury, said Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
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Houten → say → jury
In the US legal system, prosecutors convene grand juries to weigh evidence and testimony and eventually vote on whether they merit criminal charges.
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they → convene → charges
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
