Prosecutors in central New York say they are reopening the investigation of alleged "gang rape" at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024 after a civil lawsuit filed earlier this month sparked outrage about the incident.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said in a statement that his office is considering whether to bring criminal charges related to the incident, though he said the allegations in the civil complaint are “dramatically different” than the woman’s statement to police two years ago.

“It's our intention to present the case to the Tompkins County grand jury with Jane Doe's cooperation,” Van Houten told ABC News. “We want to reexamine whether there's additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024, that exists now that would change our assessment of the case and would result in the grand jury finding that there was criminal conduct.”

The reopening of the case comes less than two weeks after a former Cornell student filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she was drugged, assaulted and gang raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell.

Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus after the alleged incident, though none of the individuals allegedly involved faced criminal charges, according to the DA. Van Houten said his office did not bring charges in 2024 because the woman’s statement to authorities did not allege she was drugged or that she did not consent to engage in sexual activities.

“She never says that...

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