New York's governor removes DA in Cornell rape allegations, appoints AG Letitia James to take over – WPLG Local 10

New York’s governor removes DA in Cornell rape allegations, appoints AG Letitia James to take over  WPLG Local 10

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s governor appointed a special prosecutor Thursday to oversee an investigation into a woman’s allegations that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had signed an executive order appointing the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the investigation, which had initially been closed without charges in 2024. The woman's allegations got a rush of new attention when she filed a civil lawsuit last month. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation Monday, but has been battered by criticism that he'd abandoned the original investigation too quickly.

“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” Hochul said. “This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time." Hochul said the attorney general would oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury. “The young woman at the center of this case