The Cornell University students accused of gang raping a fellow student in 2024 reportedly shared a photo of the woman in Snapchat messages exchanged at the time of the alleged assault, CNN has reported, as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) publicly slammed the case’s past handling as an utter failure.
The photo reportedly showed the woman inside a room of the men’s fraternity house. It was exchanged in a group chat titled “Chi Phi Actives” where conversations suggested that more photos or videos may have been shared before being automatically deleted, CNN reported, citing a source close to the case. The Snapchat app is designed to automatically delete messages.
An attorney for the female student shared a limited screenshot of the chat in a lawsuit filed last month, showing one of the accused men informing others that there was “free pussy” upstairs. The screenshot did not have a timestamp.
Weeks after the alleged incident, the woman filed a report with campus police, though Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that the information he received didn’t allege rape and described the sex as consensual.
That contrasts with CBS News’ reporting on Wednesday citing a transcript in which the woman told police: “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
“Someone knew more than they were letting people know,” Hochul told reporters on Friday after appointing New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor in the case.
“In what world would the police learn from a victim that she had literally been gang raped while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney?” Hochul said. The woman has accused seven men of assaulting her, not five.
“In what world would the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?” Hochul went on. “This woman, this young woman, had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable and at every turn she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.”
The governor said she’s “deeply disturbed” that campus police may have provided Van Houten with only a partial record that didn’t specify rape. She won’t “draw conclusions” and ask Van Houten to resign until she has the full picture, she said when asked.
Hochul also said she will work to change a “loophole” state law that considers someone unable to consent to sexual activity only if they are under the influence of a substance that was administered to them without their consent.
“If someone is too intoxicated to consent, it should not matter whether they chose to use drugs or alcohol. Voluntary intoxication is not a license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” she said.
James, speaking alongside Hochul, called the case an “active criminal investigation” and said her office will provide updates as they become available.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.