On the record · Updated October 18, 2026
Tompkins County District Attorney
10 things Matthew Van Houten said, verbatim, from September 30, 2026 to October 14, 2026, each linked to where it ran. Grouped by the questions at issue, with who supported, disputed, or qualified each one.
Supports
“I support the appointment of Attorney General James and I trust that she will examine the facts and apply the law”
CNN Hochul hands the Cornell fraternity rape case to Attorney General Letitia James ›
Others on this question
“I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at because they won’t get a fair shake.”
“lead a process guided by the facts and the law”
Disputes
“It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the University.”
MSNBC Hochul hands the Cornell fraternity rape case to Attorney General Letitia James ›
Others on this question
But the school later changed its statement, which now says police investigated in 2024 and “shared the victim’s sworn statement and the Snapchat screenshot” with the district attorney’s office.
Cornell initially said campus police investigated the allegations in 2024 and “shared all investigatory information with the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office.”
Supports
“Jane Doe's sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped”
BBC News Prosecutor reopens Cornell gang rape case after accuser's 101-page lawsuit ›
Others on this question
“He never investigated further. He never interviewed her personally.”
they appear to strengthen District Attorney Matthew Van Houten's argument that there was not a compelling legal basis to bring charges against seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity
Supports
“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.”
CNN Cornell agrees to an outside inquiry as prosecutors reopen the Chi Phi rape case ›
Others on this question
“If you’re an investigator trying to get at the truth, as this DA office should have been, they should have sought more information”
“It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint”
When I first looked at the facts and statements of this story, it made sense to me from a legal and reporter's perspective, which is not necessarily the same as the outrage in the public square or on social media, which has exploded over this story why the Tompkins County DA, Matthew Van Houten, did not pursue criminal charges back in 2024.
Disputes
“We never received it and still don’t have it. It was not part of what Cornell provided to us. We got the six page statement and nothing more except for the Snapchat video,”
CNN Cornell agrees to an outside inquiry as prosecutors reopen the Chi Phi rape case ›
Others on this question
“The Cornell University Police Department investigated the matter in 2024 and shared all investigatory information with the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office, which is the established protocol if the department believes it is possible a crime has occurred”
More on the record
As printed
“voluntary, conscious, and consensual,”
on how Doe's sworn 2024 statement conflicts with her lawsuit filed nearly two years later
Breitbart News Cornell University Bans Fraternity Parties over 2024 Gang Rape Lawsuit ›
As printed
““The facts provided by Jane Doe’s statement do not allege that she was either rendered incapable of controlling her own conduct or that any drug was administered to her without her consent.””
The 19th The Cornell case is exposing a legal gap around intoxication and sexual assault ›
As printed
“the reality that it can take years of therapy and healing for victims of sexual assaults to fully process and understand what happened to them.”
on his reason for reopening a Cornell sexual assault case he earlier declined to charge
CNN Alleged gang rape at Cornell turns spotlight on campus sexual assault ›
As printed
“Jane Doe's sworn statement in November 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped,”
on why his office declined charges in 2024 in the Cornell case
Reason Magazine Beware the Rush to Judgment in the Cornell Rape Case ›
As printed
“My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later,”
The Federalist The Last Elite University ‘Gang Rape’ Was A Hoax. Cornell Might Have One Now, Too ›
People, on the record
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