New York State Police to take over sexual assault investigations at Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y. — New York State Police will immediately take over criminal investigations of sexual-assault complaints at Cornell University, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday, stripping that authority from the university's own campus police force after months of criticism over how it handled a 2024 gang-rape allegation.

The change took effect the moment it was signed, under an agreement between State Police and Cornell. "What Jane Doe described is horrifying," Hochul said in her statement, referring to the anonymous former student at the center of the case. "Every student deserves to feel safe on their campus."

"What Jane Doe described is horrifying." — Gov. Kathy Hochul

How the new arrangement works

Under the agreement, any sexual-offense complaint that would normally fall under the jurisdiction of Cornell University Police is now referred immediately to State Police for criminal investigation — unless the person making the complaint asks for a different agency. Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said in his own statement that survivors retain full autonomy over whether and when to involve law enforcement, and can still choose State Police, Cornell Police, Ithaca Police or the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office to lead an investigation if they decide to pursue charges.

Cornell Police will still assist state investigators when asked — supplying records and evidence — but State Police will independently oversee any case and decide on referrals for prosecution. The arrangement builds on a more limited step Cornell had already taken on Oct. 13, when it gave state investigators a role in campus sexual-assault cases and suspended all fraternity parties and social events at Interfraternity Council houses for the rest of the 2026–27 academic year. "I am grateful to Governor Kathy Hochul and to the New York State Police for partnering with Cornell," Kotlikoff said.

A 2024 allegation that became a monthslong crisis

The policy shift traces back to October 2024, when a Cornell student reported to campus police that she had been sexually assaulted during a visit to the Chi Phi fraternity house. Cornell's internal investigation closed later that year without any criminal charges being filed; the university disciplined some students administratively and barred the Chi Phi chapter from campus, where it remains banned.

The case resurfaced this year when the woman, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against seven current and former students, Cornell, and other defendants. According to news accounts of the complaint, the suit alleges she was given ketamine and assaulted over several hours while too intoxicated to consent. The defendants have denied wrongdoing; attorneys for some of the men have said the encounter was consensual. None of the allegations in the civil suit have been proven in court.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who had closed the criminal matter without charges in 2024, announced in late September that his office was reexamining the case in light of new evidence. Days later, Hochul said she had "lost faith" in Van Houten's handling of the case, and on Oct. 2 signed an executive order naming state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor, taking the criminal case out of Van Houten's hands entirely.

Pressure mounts on Cornell's leadership

The fallout has reached well beyond the courtroom. On Oct. 6, a special committee of Cornell's Board of Trustees announced it had hired former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates and the law firm King & Spalding to conduct an independent review of how the university handles sexual-misconduct complaints — covering Title IX compliance, the Clery Act, New York's Campus SaVE Act, campus police procedures, Greek-life oversight and the trustees' own governance.

Kotlikoff has faced direct criticism over his own role. In an Oct. 14 interview, he acknowledged he had been told of the 2024 allegation at the time but never personally followed up to learn what became of the investigation. That admission came just before Cornell's Faculty Senate began a formal no-confidence vote against the central administration's handling of the crisis. Electronic voting among the Senate's roughly 131 eligible members opened Oct. 28 and runs through Nov. 6.

What's next

Several threads are still unresolved. Attorney General James's office must decide whether to bring the case to a grand jury, with no announced timetable. The Yates-led review of Cornell's institutional response is ongoing, with no public release date yet set. The Faculty Senate's no-confidence vote closes Nov. 6, and while it would not force any personnel change, a lopsided result could intensify calls for accountability at the top of the university. For now, the most concrete change is procedural: any Cornell student who reports a sexual assault going forward will, by default, have that complaint investigated by state troopers rather than the university's own police department.