Public Safety & Justice Active Updated Oct 7, 2026
The Cornell rape case
Gov. Hochul took the Chi Phi fraternity rape case away from Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten and named Attorney General Letitia James special prosecutor after documents showed Cornell police omitted the accuser's statement that she was raped from the report prosecutors saw. The case has also revived Albany pressure to strengthen sexual assault law on intoxicated victims.
The story so far
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Oct 7, 2026 Latest
Cornell's trustees hired former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to review how the university handles sexual assault reports, NBC New York reported, as Attorney General Letitia James runs a criminal investigation into the Chi Phi case. ABC7 reported that Cornell police received a tip about the fraternity seeking to keep the alleged gang rape under wraps.
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Oct 6, 2026
More than 1,000 protesters marched at Cornell demanding President Michael Kotlikoff resign over the handling of the Chi Phi rape case, after the administration building was vandalized overnight. El Diario NY reported calls for Attorney General Letitia James to step aside from the case.
El Diario NY 
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Oct 4, 2026
Gov. Hochul declined Sunday to call lawmakers back for an emergency session on the voluntary-intoxication rape bill, saying it is something the Legislature could easily take up early in the 2027 session, the New York Post reported. Advocates including ProtectNYKids CEO Gary Greenberg said she could recall the Legislature immediately; the Senate has passed the bill repeatedly but it has stalled in the Assembly, where Speaker Carl Heastie has formed a working group.
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Oct 3, 2026
In a Saturday video, Cornell's president called the alleged Chi Phi gang rape "deeply disturbing," backed an independent review and supported Gov. Hochul's push to change the state's voluntary-intoxication rule. Attorney General Letitia James called her own inquiry a monthslong process with no predetermined outcome, NBC New York reported.
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Oct 2, 2026
Attorney General Letitia James opened an active criminal investigation into the alleged 2024 assault at Cornell's Chi Phi house after Gov. Hochul removed Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten. Hochul backed a bill letting prosecutors charge rape when a victim voluntarily drank or took drugs to the point of incapacity, saying 'Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault.' Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the Majority conference did not have enough votes to pass it, though the bill has 79 Democratic cosponsors, three over the 76 needed.
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Oct 1, 2026
Gov. Hochul took the Cornell Chi Phi case from Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten by executive order and named Attorney General Letitia James special prosecutor. The Times obtained a 120-page interview transcript in which the woman said she was raped, while the six-page statement sent to Van Houten omitted it; Van Houten said prosecutors correctly found the alleged facts did not constitute a crime.
Gothamist 
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