NY governor appoints particular counsel in Cornell frat rape investigation

The legal professional common will, if warranted, prosecute any offences discovered by her investigation and current proof to a grand jury, the governor mentioned.

James, the state’s chief authorized officer, mentioned on X that she stood prepared “to steer a course of guided by the info and the legislation”.

“The Governor has entrusted my workplace with this investigation, and we don’t take that accountability calmly,” James added.

Hochul and James are scheduled to supply an replace on the investigation on Friday morning native time.

The girl on the centre of the case, recognized anonymously as Jane Doe in courtroom paperwork, filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to the Ivy League college in September.

She alleged that she was drugged and raped by seven males at a fraternity home on the college in 2024.

She claimed that Cornell failed to guard her or adequately punish the boys, who’ve now change into referred to as the Cornell Seven.

The case was initially referred to Van Houten, the highest prosecutor within the county, in 2024.

Van Houten mentioned his workplace didn’t deliver fees on the time as a result of he had solely seen a press release from Doe implying the incident was consensual and that she had not been drugged.

This week, his workplace introduced it might be reopening the case – lower than two weeks after Doe filed her civil lawsuit.

Cornell has mentioned it supplied proof to the district legal professional’s workplace from its personal investigation, together with a Snapchat group chat by which fraternity members mentioned a “free” sexual encounter with Doe on the evening of the alleged assault.

Doe’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, has accused the district legal professional of repeatedly altering his story amid information protection of the case.