President addresses Cornell Sanctions and record dispute

Oct 19–20, 2024

ABC airs Cornell president Michael Kotlikoff's video message promising transparency and saying the administration and community must do better, including on sexual assault and party culture. Citing the New York Times, Olivia Rubin reports two expulsions, two suspensions of two years and three semesters with reflection papers, a campus ban for a graduate accused of forcibly kissing Jane Doe, and harassment study/reflection requirements for two other room entrants. She reviews a November 2024 memo in which a Cornell investigator says the DA declined additional evidence; the DA says Cornell did not share all the materials. Doe's lawyer criticizes the six-page police summary for omitting her explicit rape allegation. The report recalls Hochul appointing Letitia James special prosecutor, carries Hochul's demand for truth, and describes the I am Jane Doe solidarity campaign. All seven men deny wrongdoing. Rubin also reports that one man's suit to reverse his disciplinary decision was denied and his lawyer is appealing, presenting the lawyer's concern for students' futures. None of these accounts establishes criminal guilt.

A former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, alleges that multiple Chi Phi members drugged, sexually assaulted and raped her at the fraternity house in October 2024. Her later lawsuit includes a purported Snapchat screenshot said to show invitations to other members. ABC reports no criminal charges. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten says her original statement differed materially and did not allege drugging or lack of consent. One accused man's lawyer denies the allegations; another says he entered the room briefly but was absent when misconduct occurred. Cornell says it investigated under its policies and the fraternity remains barred. These are disputed allegations, not adjudicated facts. ABC's September 28 report specifies ketamine in Doe's allegation and airs her lawyer's account that an anonymous fraternity member, who was asleep during the alleged assault, later shared the Snapchat messages with her. The lawyer regards the messages as evidence of the assault; that is his assessment. The district attorney explains his earlier decision in terms of the legal threshold for incapacity and voluntary intoxication. ABC says Cornell expelled and suspended some members. A defense lawyer says his client will be exonerated and criticizes the civil suit. No conviction or grand-jury finding is reported. Fox's September 28 report says Doe's lawsuit alleges a four-hour assault by seven men after alcohol and drugs and cites alleged group-chat invitations. It airs her lawyer's criticism, the DA's account that her original statement described voluntary, conscious and consensual conduct, and his insistence on evidence. One accused man's lawyer denies that the incident occurred and condemns the lawsuit. These remain conflicting accounts, not a factual finding that the alleged assault did or did not happen. Democracy Now's September 29 report says Doe's lawyer disputes that her account has materially changed since her early police report. It quotes Van Houten defending reconsideration when additional evidence emerges and airs Ocasio-Cortez accusing elite institutions, including Cornell, of protecting abusers. Those statements are retained as the lawyer's and lawmaker's positions alongside the earlier prosecutor, university and defense accounts; they are not adjudicated findings. ABC's September 30 report obtains the original police statement and says it describes some consensual group sex, some felt coercion, fear and intoxication that impaired Doe's ability to decide. Van Houten continues to interpret it as consensual and says the vulgar Snapchat messages do not establish lack of consent. ABC also presents later texts expressing shame and discussing sexuality, followed by reassurance to one man, an accusation that he lied and a police report. Jeremy Saland says his client is innocent and that the complaint does not accuse him of rape. The original document passages and the prosecutor's interpretation remain distinct; they do not resolve the allegations. ABC's October 1 report obtains confidential campus investigation documents conveying Doe's account of feeling surrounded by multiple men, pressured ketamine use and impaired functioning. It reports investigators finding a ketamine overdose at the same house the previous night. These are attributed document/allegation accounts, not an adjudication or a replacement for the earlier prosecutor and defense positions. The complete source report also carries campus hearing responses and the DA's separately scoped planned evidence-gathering step. ABC's October 2 investigation examines further Snapchat invitations, a photograph, a recorded call, apologies from other alleged participants and Doe's texts saying ninety percent of the encounter was non-consensual and recalling ketamine. It says these materials and campus-police witness interviews did not reach the DA who previously declined charges. This supplements, rather than replaces, the previously reported original statement and competing interpretations. Hochul criticizes the forwarding of a partial record and replaces the prosecutor; that appointment is tracked separately. Cornell maintains that its investigation was thorough, several accused men deny wrongdoing and Doe's lawyer welcomes the appointment. The case remains disputed and no new adjudication is reported. Fox's October 2 report says Hochul found Doe's unequivocal rape allegation had been omitted from a written police summary. Van Houten says he relied on a signed revised statement and now says he was not provided the full picture. Defense lawyers continue to deny wrongdoing. These accounts do not resolve what occurred or establish guilt. ABC's October 4 report details disputed acts alongside the reported sanctions and examines the original police/DA record. Doe's lawyer says the six-page summary omitted her explicit rape allegation. An investigator's November 2024 memo, reviewed by ABC, says the DA's office declined further police evidence, while the DA says Cornell failed to share all materials. The lawyer calls the investigation incomplete. All seven men deny wrongdoing. This is an additional documentary/evidence-handoff account, not a finding resolving the underlying allegation or earlier competing consent accounts.