A full police interview that Tompkins County prosecutors say they never received before deciding not to charge anyone in the Cornell University Chi Phi fraternity rape allegations is now expected to draw fresh scrutiny under the independent review led by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.
Cornell’s trustees brought in Yates to examine how the Ithaca university handled allegations that seven Chi Phi members drugged and sexually assaulted a student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, during an October 2024 night at the fraternity house involving alcohol, drugs and group sex. Cornell’s own investigation, run through its Title IX process, resulted in two expulsions and two suspensions of at least two semesters; one accused student had already graduated before discipline could be imposed, and two were cleared.
In a November 2024 interview with Cornell University Police, Doe said she could state “with 100% confidence I was raped,” according to a transcript obtained by CBS News, and described feeling “completely and totally incapacitated.”
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his office instead reviewed a six-page sworn statement describing her participation as voluntary and consensual. Van Houten told CBS News last week that he did not initially receive the complete interview, and that the fuller account “changes the landscape for me.”
Cornell has said its police department turned over Doe’s sworn statement and a Snapchat screenshot to prosecutors in 2024 as part of standard evidence-sharing protocol when a possible crime has occurred. It remains unclear why the fuller interview was not handed over to Van Houten’s office at the time. Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for clarification from Fox News Digital.
Scott Iseman, a New York attorney who has represented students accused of campus sexual misconduct, said Yates could compare Doe’s complete police interview against her sworn statement and later testimony for inconsistencies.
“Those full recorded interviews, I can tell you from experience, have a treasure trove of information that are really, really important to exactly what happened,” Iseman said.
He added that gaps between a full interview and a shorter sworn statement can matter a great deal. “Law enforcement is supposed to make sure that all salient facts are included in that sworn statement,” he said. He also cautioned that he has not seen the full interview, which has not been made public, and cannot say whether anything omitted was significant.
Iseman said Yates’s team could also turn up witnesses Cornell never questioned, along with overlooked texts or social media evidence. Still, he urged caution about assuming the university botched its handling of the case. “It may have all been done very appropriately by Cornell. We don’t know yet,” he said.
A Review Beyond One Case
Cornell has pointed to the scope of its original investigation, which included more than 50 interviews and 12 days of disciplinary hearings, and said both Doe and the accused students had chances to review evidence, testify and appeal. University President Michael Kotlikoff has defended the outcome publicly.
Yates was retained after Doe filed a lawsuit on Sept. 16 laying out the allegations in detail, setting off campus protests and national attention. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office is separately conducting a criminal investigation. No criminal charges have been filed against any of the seven men, who have denied wrongdoing — some saying the activity was consensual, others denying involvement altogether.
Yates’s review, conducted through the law firm King & Spalding, will examine not just the Chi Phi allegations but Cornell’s broader handling of sexual misconduct complaints, including oversight of fraternities and sororities, and whether the university’s practices meet federal and state legal standards. Findings go to a special committee of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, which has said it will share results with the university community. Any new evidence uncovered could be passed to the Attorney General’s office, Iseman said, though Yates has no authority to file charges herself.
Yates previously led a 2022 investigation into women’s professional soccer that exposed widespread coaching abuse and prompted U.S. Soccer to pledge sweeping reforms.
Due Process Concerns
The case has reignited debate over the rights afforded to students accused of serious misconduct on campus. John R. Grasso, a Rhode Island criminal defense attorney and former police officer who has represented accused students for two decades, said campus proceedings lack basic protections available in criminal court.
“When I defend a student on campus, we don’t have any right to discovery. We can’t compel the production of anything,” Grasso said.
He said accused students can face an impossible choice when campus and criminal proceedings overlap — participate and risk making statements that could hurt them criminally, or stay silent and risk being found responsible on campus. “I have a right to remain silent, but if I don’t participate, I’m getting found responsible,” he said.
Grasso said the fallout for accused students can be severe even when they are ultimately cleared. “Bad things happen to the accused the minute a complaint is filed against them on campus. Really bad things,” he said.
Iseman said the public should withhold judgment until the review is complete. “Just because the allegations are salacious or dramatic does not mean that’s what happened,” he said. “So people need to keep an open mind.”
