New York police will now investigate Cornell sex complaints, governor says

New York police will now investigate Cornell sex complaints, governor says

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said state police will now handle all future sexual offence complaints at Cornell University, following the backlash over a gang rape allegation at the school.

The move comes after the handling of a 2024 alleged campus rape case in which a student, identified anonymously as Jane Doe, sued Cornell after she said she was drugged and gang raped at a fraternity.

Cornell initially defended its disciplinary response, but later admitted it had fallen short in dealing with her case.

The controversy has continued to shake the university. Cornell’s administration, including its president, is now facing a no-confidence vote from faculty.

Hochul said New York State Police signed an agreement with Cornell so that all sexual offence complaints, which had previously been handled by university police, will now be referred immediately to state police.

“When someone reports sexual assault,” Hochul said on Thursday, they deserve “to know their allegations will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated by law enforcement trained to support survivors”.

“Survivors should be able to trust the institutions responsible for protecting them,” the governor added.

The backlash against the Ivy League university has been severe since Jane Doe filed her lawsuit in mid-September.

On Wednesday, the university’s Faculty Senate, a governing body made up of professors and other academic staff, met in closed session and decided to proceed with a no-confidence vote against the administration and the university’s President Michael Kotlikoff.

Faculty will be able to vote starting Friday, with the ballot open until 6 November. The vote is largely symbolic, but it could increase pressure for changes in the university’s leadership.

Earlier this month, the university announced several steps in response to the alleged assault, including adding sexual assault investigators to its police force.

Hochul said she was “deeply disturbed” by the way the investigation was handled. Earlier this month, she appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to oversee a reopened investigation into whether criminal charges are warranted.

The woman at the centre of the case filed a civil lawsuit claiming she was drugged and raped by seven men at a fraternity house at the university in 2024.

She said Cornell failed to protect her or properly punish the men, who are now known as the Cornell Seven.