On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for an investigation into how Cornell University handled a 2024 gang rape allegation, in which a woman says she was sexually assaulted by seven students after being plied with alcohol and drugs.

The woman initiated legal proceedings this month, alleging that she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house on Cornell's campus in October 2024.

Her suit contends that the assault transpired after she was coerced into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and consuming alcohol, to such an extent that she was rendered incapable of consenting to sex.

The woman lodged a report of the incident with Cornell’s campus police department, yet the local district attorney’s office elected not to prosecute anyone at that juncture.

It reopened the criminal investigation on Monday as public outrage mounted over the woman’s allegations.

Hochul, a Democrat, said she backed Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten's decision to reopen his investigation, but added that larger questions remain about Cornell's reporting, response, and prevention systems, as well as its campus culture.

The governor called for an outside law firm to be hired to independently investigate the university's response.

“The allegations in this case are nothing short of horrifying,” Hochul said in a statement.

“For any student to come forward after an experience like this takes extraordinary courage.

No student should ever be left wondering whether the institutions meant to protect them will listen and act.”

On Tuesday, an email soliciting comment was dispatched to Cornell.

In several media interviews on Tuesday, Van Houten argued that while the male students involved had done things that were “morally wrong,” the woman’s initial account of the incident to police did not include allegations that she had been drugged, incapacitated beyond the ability to consent, or forced into sex.

"She approached the police because she was cognizant that it wasn't right," Van Houten told CNN.

Van Houten has not released the victim’s sworn statement to police, but instead released a summary with some of her direct quotes included.

He also defended his office’s decision not to do additional investigation after the woman, who was identified in court filings by the pseudonym Jane Doe, initially spoke to police.

"There were no question marks.

There was no further need to seek out information, since we had everything the police had gathered from Jane Doe through the very detailed and very comprehensive statement she gave," Van Houten said.

Van Houten's office refrained from communicating directly with the victim; however, the district attorney had assured the police that he would meet with her personally to clarify the legal position.

Shortly after the woman first lodged her allegations in 2024, Cornell publicly disclosed that it was conducting an investigation into “serious and deeply disturbing allegations of drug abuse and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house.”

It further announced that the fraternity and several students had been suspended, and that parallel investigations by the police and the school were underway.

On Monday, the university stated in a statement that it endorsed the decision to reopen the criminal investigation, adding that its own inquiry had resulted in some students being subjected to disciplinary measures or expulsion.

The Chi Phi chapter remains prohibited from campus.

Cornell has declined to disclose further details regarding disciplinary actions taken against individual students, citing privacy regulations.

The woman’s complaint levels accusations against the university, alleging that it failed to prevent the purported assaults and neglected to adequately address sexual violence on campus.

It incorporates a photograph that is said to depict a group chat in which fraternity members discuss the night’s events.

Van Houten called the photo a “red herring,” saying that it had no bearing on the legal analysis of the case.

"We received it, but it was not relevant to assessing whether Jane Doe consented or whether there was any evidence of a lack of consent on her part as defined by the penal law," he said.