New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order Thursday night that takes the alleged Cornell fraternity rape case away from Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. Attorney General Letitia James will now investigate and decide whether to bring charges. A former student suing as Jane Doe says seven men raped her at the Chi Phi house in October 2024. She filed the lawsuit in mid-September. No one has been charged. Van Houten declined to prosecute in 2024. Days ago, he said he would reopen the case. Then her lawyer said she told police in 2024 that she was raped. Van Houten said he hadn't seen the transcript of that interview. Hochul said the new information "undercut my faith" in the DA. Cornell supports the move.

1. The State Had to Take This Over

The governor and the student's lawyer say the local office lost the public's trust, and the attorney general promises a fair look.

The governor says the local DA lost her trust. The governor said "newly released information" raises "serious questions" about the Cornell police investigation and the decision not to prosecute. "This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public's faith, in the District Attorney's ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time," she said. She said the move will make sure the case is handled "without conflict or bias."

Her lawyer says she told police she was raped. Thomas Giuffra, the student's lawyer, confirmed to NPR that she told investigators in 2024, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped." Giuffra cited transcripts of her sworn statement. He told NBC News that he and his client had "no faith in DA Van Houten's ability or desire to actively investigate and prosecute this case."

The new prosecutor promises a full, fair look. James said, "Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly." She said she is "ready to lead a process New Yorkers can trust, guided by the facts and the law."

2. The 2024 Decision Followed the Law

The district attorney says her written statement described no crime he could charge, and he never saw the rest of what she told police.

Her written statement described consent, he says. Van Houten said her 2024 statement to Cornell police "did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped." He said it "described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual." "Multiple prosecutors and criminal investigators reviewed Jane Doe's statement and correctly determined the alleged facts as set forth in the statement do not constitute a crime," he said.

He says he never saw her full account. Van Houten told WSKG on Wednesday that he hadn't read her full account to investigators. "If it's factual, we absolutely should have been informed about what Jane Doe said to police that was not in her six-page statement," he said. He said he was still trying to get the transcript and didn't know "if Cornell will resist turning it over." He has also told ABC News his office relied on the Cornell police and didn't "independently investigate." Cornell quietly cut a line from its online FAQ, WSKG found. That line said its police "shared all investigatory information" with the DA's office.

He pushes back on the social media version. "If what was said on social media about this case was true, those fraternity members would be in prison right now," Van Houten told ABC News. He has called what the men did "morally wrong," but he says her first account didn't describe a crime. Van Houten did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night.

3. Any Prosecutor Will Hit the Same Law

Lawmakers and advocates say New York's consent law blocks cases like this one, whoever brings them.

New York law treats drinking you chose differently from being drugged. State law counts intoxication as making you "mentally incapacitated" only if someone drugged you or gave you alcohol without your knowing. Van Houten put it this way: "if you are voluntarily intoxicated or under the influence of drugs – such that your judgment is impaired — that does not legally, under the penal law, constitute your inability to consent."

Lawmakers want the law changed. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz of the Bronx sponsors a bill to change that. The test would be whether a person could consent, and whether the accused "knew or should have known" they couldn't. "Rape is the only crime that I'm aware of where, if the victim was drunk, they may not get justice," he told Reuters. State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez's version passed the Senate but never got an Assembly floor vote. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark backs the change: "The law should recognize when someone is simply incapable of consenting."

Advocates and experts say the law doesn't fit real life. "Either you're stone cold sober or you're totally comatose," said Ann Olivarius, a lawyer who represents sexual misconduct victims. "Life is not like that, and certainly not in college." Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said, "If you're incapacitated, you're incapacitated, regardless of whether you consumed it yourself or somebody else gave it to you without your consent." Hochul has said she's considering new legislation too.

4. Don't Judge the Men Before the Facts Are In

A lawyer for one of the seven says his client is innocent and warns against a rush to judgment.

One lawyer points to the Duke lacrosse case as a warning. Jeremy Saland, a defense attorney who represents one of the men, told Newsweek in a story first published Monday: "If the hobbling of young men in the Duke Lacrosse tragedy has taught us anything, we need to cast aside the pitchforks of prejudgment and let the facts come out."

He says his client took no part. Saland says his client was in the room. He says his client took no part in any assault and didn't see her in distress. He says a hair follicle test showed his client didn't take ketamine. "The plaintiff can peddle any story she wants, but intentionally victimizing an innocent person for a money grab is reprehensible," he said. He also said he has received threats that he "should be raped and killed for defending him."

Where This Lands

James now runs the case, and she can take it to a grand jury if she finds a crime. Hochul and the student's lawyer say the local DA lost the public's trust. Van Houten says he followed the law based on the statement he had, and he says he never saw her full account. Lawmakers say any prosecutor faces the same consent law. Their bill to change it hasn't passed the Assembly. A lawyer for one of the men warns against judging them before the facts come out. Cornell has also said it will bring in outside counsel to review its own handling of the case. No one has been charged.

Sources