Cornell University police carried out a drug-related arrest at the Chi Phi fraternity house just 22 hours before a former student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted at the location, archived police records indicate. According to campus police logs reviewed by NBC News and initially reported by The Cornell Daily Sun, officers responded to the fraternity house shortly after 1 a.m. on October 19, 2024. During the call, they made a drug-related arrest and referred an individual to the university Office of Student Conduct. The archived records do not identify the person involved, specify the types of drugs recovered, or establish a direct link between the early morning drug incident and the alleged sexual assault later that night. Representatives for Cornell University and the campus police department were approached for comment. The former student, filing under the pseudonym Jane Doe, initiated a lawsuit last month against the university alongside seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity. Her legal complaint alleges she was subjected to a sexual assault over the course of several hours while incapacitated by a combination of ketamine, alcohol, and marijuana. Documentation obtained from a subsequent police interview reveals that a woman told investigators she previously observed a fraternity member with a bag of ketamine roughly two months prior to the incident. The same witness mentioned that the individual had suffered an overdose in the past requiring medical transportation, though the interview records do not specify when that event occurred or if she witnessed it firsthand. Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff addressed the situation in a video message, describing the allegations made by Jane Doe as deeply disturbing while raising questions about how authorities handled the subsequent investigation. He emphasized that both the university administration and the broader community must improve their response to such matters. Initial decisions by Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten drew scrutiny after reports indicated he chose not to bring criminal charges without reviewing additional witness interviews and anonymous tips gathered by campus police during the early weeks of the probe. Van Houten stated his decision relied on the victim’s initial six-page statement to law enforcement, which he contended did not allege criminality. Conversely, the victim’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, asserted that authorities failed to conduct a proper investigation and prematurely prejudged the case based on her acknowledgment that she consented to certain parts of the evening. Following widespread attention, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed State Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to evaluate whether criminal charges should be pursued. Questioning the previous handling of the case during a news conference, Hochul criticized the decision not to interview the victim, other involved parties, or request the full interview transcript.
Source: nbcnews.com
