Overview
- Governor Kathy Hochul on Oct. 2, 2026 signed an executive order stripping primary control from the Tompkins County district attorney and appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James to lead an active criminal investigation.
- Letitia James said her office will review evidence, interview witnesses, and prosecute if warranted, and Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten has reopened his probe and pledged to cooperate with the attorney general.
- The move followed media reporting of campus police interview transcripts in which the plaintiff, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, told investigators she was '100 percent' sure she had been raped and the transcript material did not appear in the sworn statement initially sent to prosecutors.
- Cornell conducted a separate Title IX process that imposed expulsions and suspensions, the plaintiff filed a 101-page civil lawsuit last month naming seven men and the university, and Cornell has agreed to an independent external review of how it handled the case.
- Hochul said she will seek changes to New York law to remove distinctions that can hinder prosecutions when victims are intoxicated, and the attorney general may present evidence to a grand jury as the next likely prosecutorial step.