NEW YORK, Oct 3 — New York Governor Kathy Hochul vowed yesterday to close a legal loophole that makes it harder to prosecute rape cases if the victims were willingly intoxicated, amid an uproar over an alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
The accuser in that case has filed a civil lawsuit over the alleged 2024 attack at the Ivy League school, casting a harsh spotlight on a decision by prosecutors not to file any criminal charges at the time.
The investigation into the incident was reopened on Monday, and Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor, as anger mounts over allegations that Cornell failed to properly hold the men accountable.
In her civil suit, the woman says she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students.
