By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-08 20:07:03 | Updated at 2026-10-08 21:06:33
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The “Cornell 7” Jane Doe at the center of an alleged frat house gang rape was “misled” about the status of the criminal probe into her claims — after bringing them to campus police, her attorney said.
The victim, a female student only identified as Jane Doe, was led to believe an investigation was moving forward after reporting the alleged October 2024 assault to campus police several weeks later, according to her attorney, Thomas Giuffra.
But it turned out the probe wrapped shortly after it started, when Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten decided against pressing charges days after cops first spoke with her.
Van Houten said he asked Cornell police to tell Doe about his decision — but never spoke to her or her lawyer personally.
“I think she was misled. She was told it was still — they weren’t going to prosecute, but they were still investigating,” Giuffra told the Associated Press. “I was involved with this case early on. I thought they were still investigating.
“It was news to me that they weren’t doing anything.”
The attorney said he assumed investigators needed more time to speak with witnesses and build a case.
“But nothing was being done, and we didn’t know that,” Giuffra said.
Last week, Van Houten said his office had declined to press charges after reviewing a six-page summary of Doe’s account written by a police officer.
From that report, Van Houten believed no crime had been committed and that Doe’s sexual participation and drug use that night were “voluntary, conscious and consensual,” he said.
That account differs greatly from what Doe said she told police and Cornell investigators at the time, and with what she alleged in a lawsuit she filed last month against seven Chi Phi fraternity members and Cornell.
Last week, it was reported that a Cornell police investigator allegedly tried to get Van Houten’s office to consider additional evidence in the weeks following the reported rape, but was rebuffed.
“At first I thought these police were incompetent. It sounds like they were doing the right thing. And they just got shot down,” Giuffra said.
The case was yanked from Tompkins County by Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday — and handed over to New York Attorney General Letitia James to probe.
Giuffra applauded the move, saying he “didn’t think [Van Houten] was up to the task” and was concerned about his plan for conducting the reopened investigation.
Van Houten reportedly wanted to take the case to a grand jury and have Jane Doe testify before the panel in the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, New York’s top cop suggested her probe into the alleged gang rape could take months.
Van Houten’s office and Cornell Campus Police didn’t respond immediately to The Post’s requests for comment.
None of the fraternity brothers named in Jane Doe’s suit have yet to be officially charged with any crimes.
With Post wires.
