The excerpts below are from the following sources
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/cornell-texts-rape-investigation
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-cornell-university-gang-rape-lawsuit/
The woman, identified only by a pseudonym in the lawsuit, filed the complaint Sept. 16, saying she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Ivy League campus in October 2024 after being pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. She became completely incapacitated while frat members were sexually assaulting her, the lawsuit alleges.
Two of the alleged perpetrators were subsequently expelled after an internal investigation by Cornell – while the other five were allowed to resume their studies at the Ivy League institution after writing an essay, attending a workshop, or serving a short suspension.
None were ever arrested or charged, and outrage over the treatment of the alleged offenders grew when the woman’s lawsuit was made public.
CBS, meanwhile, also claimed to have a video of Snapchat messages exchanged on the night of the alleged assault by numerous members of a group called Chi Phi Actives. One of the messages, sent while the woman was in the since-closed fraternity house, allegedly stated there was “free pussy upstairs”.
According to CBS, a later message sent by a group member asked: “Shop still open?” The response was, “Yea”.
Attorney Thomas Giuffra, who represents the woman, confirmed to CBS that his client – named Jane Doe in court documents – exchanged text messages with one defendant after the alleged assault. But Giuffra said he could not be certain the screenshots that CBS News saw were authentic.
The woman’s lawyer says Cornell University Police had the fraternity messages in 2024, but prosecutors say they didn’t see them until she filed a lawsuit recently
Over the weekend, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned what she called a “culture of rape” that is protected at elite institutions.
“When I read what happened at Cornell, those men posted in a group chat. That means it was normal to them. That means it was acceptable to them. This is a culture,” she said Sunday at a forum packed with young people near Cornell’s campus.
“And what we must do is understand that we cannot protect those spaces any more.”
The account includes multiple periods where she can't remember what happened. The DA should have questioned if she was concious throughout, and for further investigations. I also doubt a 6 page statement can sufficiently detail 7 hours of events from 7 suspects and other people present alongside the drive home and texts after.
There's also multiple things in her statement indicating lack of consent including hiding her head in her hands, saying she felt coerced and rejecting multiple sex acts. She also details someone walking in saying get were "shutting down" the incident and of course there is the "free pussy" snapchat. This should have lead to professional curiosity from the DA. There is of course the transcript that the DA says they didn't receive where she clearly says she was raped.
Failing to review transcripts is substandard practice: serious fault in the DA there. However, unless significant allegations in the transcript are absent from the statement, it's unlikely to resolve the statement's contradiction of a crime.
A confident claim is not a conclusive legal determination drawn from alleged facts. According to the reported transcript, she was confident about the statement, too:
When the only allegation recommending a criminal charge alleges facts that not only fail to support that conclusion but negate key statutory elements of the crime, that eliminates every prosecutable theory and legal basis for an investigation. Such a contradiction is not resolvable through further investigation. At least some plausible basis for a crime needs to be articulated for an investigation to justifiably proceed.
The DA gave the complainant notice of his determination and an opportunity to review it together. That was another chance to raise any allegations the DA could have missed & explain how they arrived to their conclusion when alleged facts reviewed so far didn't support it. The complainant apparently waived the opportunity.
The "multiple things indicating lack of consent" are worse than you wrote, yet they don't satisfy the element of the crime. A feeling lacking clear expression is not a fact supporting the legal standard; she had the liberty to reject, exercised it, and was met with compliance
Shutting down events and distasteful language in snapchat obviously don't qualify.
Much that you mention or that comes up in these stories is already in the statement, too. Some allegation that actually meets the legal standards is needed.
Just so I understand, are you saying that it doesnt matter that:
And you don't feel the DA should have shown professional curiosity regarding any of this for example asking for the rest of the chat thread or asking for the account of the person that intervened? Just want to clarify
I don't feel her waiving speaking to the DA indicates anything, she may just not have been able to cope. "I'm very confident about this" could mean she's confident she was raped.