‘I want the truth’: NY governor appoints prosecutor in Cornell rape case – aljazeera.com

‘I want the truth’: NY governor appoints prosecutor in Cornell rape case  aljazeera.com

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says local authorities failed to properly investigate the 2024 allegations. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang rape at Cornell University, saying newly released information had undermined her confidence in the local prosecutor’s handling of the case. In a news conference on Friday, Hochul said that the woman who reported the alleged assault had been failed by institutions responsible for protecting her, including Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County district attorney’s office. “In what world does the district attorney not even interview her, or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript?” Hochul asked at the news conference.

“And I want the truth. I think every parent in this state, every New Yorker wants the truth in this case.” Hochul signed an executive order on Thursday requiring the attorney general to investigate the alleged October 2024 assault. If warranted, evidence will be presented to a grand jury and the case prosecuted. The order states the Tompkins County district attorney declined to prosecute the case in November 2024 without speaking to Jane Doe and relied, at least in part, on information from a Cornell police statement that omitted her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted. On Friday in a