A transcript of an interview with Cornell campus police reported that a complainant told investigators she could “say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
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A transcript of an interview with Cornell campus police, which has not been publicly released, reports that a woman later identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe told investigators she was “100% confident I was raped.”
The account is tied to a lawsuit filed by Jane Doe alleging she was sexually assaulted by seven men at the Chi Phi fraternity house after being pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol.
The alleged attack began on Oct. 19, 2024. The woman first went to Cornell’s campus police about three weeks later, and returned for further interviews on Nov. 14 and 15, 2024.
In the transcript, the woman is reported to have said she was “completely and totally incapacitated” before some of the sexual abuse. She also told police she was comfortable with an initial sexual encounter with two men, but not with what happened later when other men entered the room.
The transcript reports she told investigators, “And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time. Physically hit very, very hard,” and said, “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
The district attorney for Tompkins County, Matthew Van Houten, has maintained that the woman’s first account to police did not include allegations that she was drugged or forced into sex, while also saying his office reopened the investigation based on new information in the lawsuit filed earlier this month.
Cornell University first publicly disclosed it was investigating the allegations on Nov. 8, 2024, sending an email alert to students warning that a person had reported being sexually assaulted at a fraternity house and coerced into consuming drugs. The same day, the university suspended the Chi Phi fraternity.
In a later statement to students in late November 2024, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said campus police were investigating “deeply disturbing allegations of drug abuse and sexual violence” at the fraternity house. Cornell later appointed a task force to address sexual assault on campus.
Cornell said it supports the district attorney’s decision to reopen the criminal investigation, adding that its own investigation led to some students being disciplined or expelled. The university said the Chi Phi chapter remains barred from campus and has declined to release more information on discipline for individual students, citing privacy rules.
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