A Cornell University student who gave police leads about the alleged gang rape on campus said she feels “betrayed” by the Ivy League school’s handling of the case.
The unidentified student heard rumors about the alleged victim, known only as Jane Doe, within hours of the incident on the night of Oct. 19, 2024, she told NBC News.
She was instantly “really horrified” at hearing the female student had reportedly gone over to Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house for a threesome that had “gone off the rails.”
As news of the night’s alleged events spread around campus, the Ivy League school issued a crime safety alert about a reported sexual assault at a fraternity, and the student submitted a tip to authorities, she recalled.
She decided to go to cops after seeing screenshots of the sick group messages reportedly sent by Chi Phi members on Snapchat.
Within Cornell’s Greek life, “rumors spread fast,” and everyone “knew someone who [knew]” the fraternity brothers at the center of the case, she said.
“The thing I think we all feel betrayed in regards to is that it wasn’t handled,” she said.
“When we got the police report, I think we all assumed it was being … handled properly, and was in good hands,” she added.
The student was asked to come in and speak to campus police days after Jane Doe reported the incident on Nov. 8, she said.
She spoke to cops for half an hour while they took her statement, naming the fraternity members who were messaging about the events of that evening, and giving information about widespread ketamine use at Chi Phi.
Jane Doe states in her lawsuit that she was plied with ketamine—a powerful tranquilizer—and strong alcohol before and during the alleged sexual assault.
The student who spoke to police said the officers seemed “fairly competent,” but added that it appeared her testimony hadn’t gone anywhere.
“I guess I assumed that I wasn’t enough,” she said.
Cornell Police spoke to multiple witnesses and fielded many anonymous tips about the alleged gang rape, but that information was not referred to the local prosecutor for review when deciding to press charges, according to records obtained by NBC News.
Only interviews of the frat members “declining to speak on the advice of their attorney” were flagged, according to Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
On Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was taking the case away from Tompkins County and putting New York Attorney General Letitia James in charge of the new investigation.
Cornell University and campus police did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
