CNN host Jake Tapper tore into the district attorney whose office recently reopened a 2024 case of alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house, arguing that prosecutors “dropped the ball” the first time around.
“You know, I have a daughter. I can’t imagine how mad I would be if a district attorney handled this case that way for my daughter, it’s just — do you not acknowledge that your office dropped the ball by not looking more into what happened?” Tapper asked Matthew Van Houten, district attorney of New York’s Tompkins County, on Monday’s airing of “The Lead.”
The accuser, identified as Jane Doe in a lawsuit filed earlier this month, said she was intoxicated when she was given drugs and more alcohol while at the Chi Pi fraternity house, where she alleges she was sexually assaulted by multiple men over the course of several hours.
Her lawsuit named seven men, including one who allegedly sent a message to a group chat claiming there was “free p***y” upstairs, referring to the victim.
None of the accused fraternity members were arrested. Doe ultimately dropped out of the school, and only two of the seven men named in the lawsuit were expelled. The other fraternity members were either suspended, completed workshops or wrote essays.
“It’s absolutely horrific,” Tapper told Van Houten. “And it’s just— I would think that a district attorney would want to find out more?”
Van Houten said his office does not independently investigate crimes but rather relies on the police to do so. He added that the accuser “told the police candidly what she remembered, and maybe she remembers more now. And if she does, then we want to put that in front of the grand jury.”
The DA’s office reopened its investigation this week following massive public outcry toward the university, authorities and the seven men involved.
“This woman was at the very least assaulted,” Tapper argued. “Doesn’t remember things that happened. Who knows if she was even conscious for all of it? I want to know more about what happened, and that’s ― correct me if I’m wrong ― your job?”
Tapper further pressed Van Houten on why additional witnesses who may have had information weren’t questioned previously.
“I’m asking why you didn’t tell Cornell police or local police to go talk to them to find out more about what happened, given that this woman went to the police to make a complaint, thinking that she had been assaulted. Something had happened to her, she didn’t know what exactly, and it’s your responsibility as district attorney to get to the bottom of it and and find out,” Tapper continued. “That’s why I’m confused.”
Watch Tapper’s interview below:
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.