Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff now backs James's criminal probe and the outside review. He spoke in an 8-minute video. He called Jane Doe's allegations 'deeply disturbing.' He said the school 'must do better.' Campus police records show officers made a drug arrest at the Chi Phi house. That arrest came 22 hours before the alleged assault.
Catch up
On Oct. 1, Cornell agreed to an outside review of how it handled a student's lawsuit. She accuses 7 Chi Phi brothers of gang-raping her on Oct. 19, 2024. The Tompkins County DA reopened the case. He said he never saw her rape claim. By Oct. 3, Kathy Hochul (Gov-D New York) had named Attorney General Letitia James special prosecutor. Hochul said the local DA never interviewed the accuser.
Kotlikoff called for a serious look at Greek life: 'Being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility' (BBC). DA Van Houten relied only on Doe's 6-page initial police statement (NYT).