Governor Hochul criticizes handling of gang-rape report at Cornell

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York state, says the woman who reported that she was drugged, sexually assaulted and gang-raped at the prestigious Cornell University has been let down by the people who should have guaranteed her safety.

The woman points out seven men who are said to have been involved in the incident.

The betrayal, the governor believes, is shared by the police and preliminary investigation manager as well as by the university as a whole.

The woman reported the incident in 2024 to the police at the university, but when the police then forwarded her testimony to the prosecutor, the latter concluded that no crime had been committed.

The investigation has now been resumed after the woman sued Cornell University.

On Friday, Kathy Hochul held a press conference where she did not mince words about how the woman was treated by the authorities. In her opinion, university police appear to have dismissed the woman's allegations to protect the school's reputation.

- No one must protect their reputation at the expense of a young person seeking justice.

The woman finished her studies after the incident.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says she last week urged Cornell's chancellor to open an independent investigation into the school's handling of the woman's allegations, which the chancellor approved.

But after more information came out about the handling of the case, such as that no witnesses or accused were interviewed by the police, the governor has now also appointed a special prosecutor, Letitia James, to investigate the incident.

- We do not take lightly the responsibility we have been given. "All New Yorkers deserve to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fairly and fully," said James.

According to the governor, there is currently a loophole in state law that allows perpetrators to get away with sexual assault if the victim is voluntarily under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That gap, she says, must be closed.

- It should not matter if a person is drunk, it does not constitute approval for sexual assault or gang rape, period.

Several of the named men have denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers.