New details on Cornell fraternity rape case raise questions about what police knew

The outrage is intensifying at Cornell University, two years after an alleged rape investigation by Cornell Police did not lead to criminal charges. CBS NewsNew York exclusively obtained a transcript of an interview between a campus police investigator and the woman, identified as Jane Doe, more than three weeks after the October 2024 incident, when she alleges in a lawsuit, seven men took turns sexually abusing her at the Chi Phi Fraternity House. According to the transcript, when asked if she was OK with the initial sexual encounter, she told campus police as much as I can be because again, I was super drunk when I got there. But I was pretty OK with all of this. But then added, "I was being hit at the same time. Physically hit very, very hard". When describing the events that happened later, according to the transcript, she said, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped". On Tuesday night, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten told us that comment was not included in the woman's sworn six-page summary statement Cornell University Police submitted to him in November 2024, which is why his office decided not to pursue charges. That wasn't information that I had, first of all. Second of all, that is a legal conclusion. If she had said those words, we certainly want to have explored that more.

LILIA LUCIANO:

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Van Houten told me if her quote about being raped was omitted from a statement, if it is true, it needs to be fully investigated by someone outside of Cornell. If it exists, I will get it. You can be sure of that. Many on the Cornell campus are pressing for more answers from the administration. That includes Saanya Agarwal, who's on the student assembly. This case was the reason why you ran? Yes, because it's absolutely terrifying to hear that that's happening. What if this happened to me? What if this happened to my best friend and I didn't get my day in court, and I have to go to a mass media campaign just to be heard? Yesterday, the president of Cornell University told students in a meeting that they conducted an extensive internal Title IX investigation. That that resulted in two students being expelled, two facing multi-semester suspensions, two were found not to be responsible for sexual misconduct, one graduated before the conclusion of their investigation. But we have reached out to the University to get more clarity on the results of their internal investigation. They have referred us to online statements that they have posted, explaining that they did conduct this extensive investigation, and also that Cornell University Police shared all investigatory information with the district attorney's office in 2024. That's what appears online. I talked to the DA yesterday, and he explained to me that what he received was the sworn statement from the victim in 2024. The conclusion of the investigation in 2025, that he has not seen. It is something that he is trying to get through Jane Doe's attorneys, and if not, something that he'll have to subpoena now that this investigation has again been opened by the DA. That concluded in '25. So still more questions here. Lilia, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you.