NEW YORK, Oct 2 — New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed a special prosecutor to look into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University, she said on Thursday, shunning the district attorney who had declined to file charges.
US prosecutors reopened the investigation after the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit in September, fuelling allegations that the elite college failed to properly hold the men accountable.
The alleged victim said in the lawsuit that she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped in 2024 by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.
The earlier decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to take the suspects to court “undercut my faith, and the public’s faith” in the DA’s ability, Hochul said in a statement.
