by Victoria Miele ’28 on October 8, 2026
News - National & Global
Recently, a woman attending Cornell University in New York accused seven Chi Phi fraternity members of sexually assaulting her in October 2024. At the time of the assault, Cornell held a closed proceeding to determine what took place that evening and whether or not those seven men would be punished for the alleged assault.
However, prosecutors in Central New York are reopening the investigation after a civil lawsuit was filed in early September. The man who led the case in 2024 is Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. Van Houten states that they “want to reexamine whether there’s additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024, that exists now that would change the assessment of the case and would result in the grand jury finding that there was criminal conduct.”
After the alleged incident, the DA said the Chi Phi chapter at Cornell was barred from campus. Charges were not placed in 2024 because Jane Doe’s statement to the authorities did not allege that she was drugged without her knowledge or that she did not consent to engage in sexual activities.
Jane Doe’s current attorney, Thomas P. Giuffra, disputed the description of Jane Doe’s statement to the authorities in 2024 and said that the authorities at the time should be faulted for never following up with his client. Van Houten acknowledged that his office never performed an independent investigation of the situation, instead relying solely on the Cornell Police Department’s report. A summary of the six-page document that was typed and presented by Jane Doe and Van Houten said that she had agreed to partake in certain sexual acts with a few of the brothers, but it quickly got out of hand, involving four other brothers and drug use.
In a statement released by the University on Sept. 21, Cornell said they take allegations of sexual violence “very seriously” and that the Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards “investigated and adjudicated the allegations consistent with university policies.” They went on to say that they “support the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story, in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity Sexual Assault case, to be heard by a criminal grand jury.”
Cornell stated that, outside of the two offices’ investigations, they also conducted a thorough Title IX investigation over the course of multiple months. “During that investigation temporary suspensions and other restrictive measures were used. After investigation, and pursuant to federal law, the matter was sent to a hearing where a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days. The complainant and respondents had the opportunity to testify and present evidence. At the conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell. None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” the final statement evidently being made in response to the public input this case is now receiving nationally, as well as the fact that Jane Doe’s lawyers allege that the boys “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”
An attorney for defendant Scott Kretzschmar spoke out denying the allegations, saying “at bottom, Scott never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way. Period. We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.” Additionally, an attorney for Gillo Lopes denied the allegations against his client, saying, “Cornell previously investigated this matter and developed an extensive factual record. The allegations now being made publicly differ in significant respects from the accounts provided during that investigation and do not reflect the complete record. Those inconsistencies will be tested through discovery and addressed in the litigation.”
Here at Providence College, we have the SPEEC group: Students Promoting Equity, Education, and Compliance. The group serves as a “student-centered mechanism for peer-to-peer prevention education initiatives, micro-learning campaigns, professional development dialogue, and engagement around student perspectives and concerns regarding discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.” These students work as a go-between for students and the Office of Equity Compliance, and they persistently identify community needs and cultural shifts on campus. They work to build a beloved community that PC is so dedicated to and reduce the likelihood of identity-based violence. PC enforces a strict sexual misconduct policy through the aforementioned Office of Equity Compliance under the anti-discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and Title IX guidelines. Students are welcome to reach out to this office or the SPEEC group at any time with any concerns.