What Prosecutors, Police and Universities can Learn from the Cornell 7 Case

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An analysis of what the Cornell 7 case reveals about sexual assault

Published November 13th, 2026

Written by Fayzaan Virk

Less than 7% of sexual assault reports resulted in convictions, according to a study done by UMass Lowell. That same study also found that only 18% of sexual assault reports led to an arrest. And that’s just the sexual assaults reported to police. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 77% of rapes and sexual assaults are not reported. On college campuses, only about 20% of survivors report to the police. Similarly, many of those that are reported at colleges do not lead to serious consequences for the offenders. In New York, only 3.6% of all sexual misconduct reports at universities led to expulsion or suspension. The recent allegations of rape at Cornell University highlight several shortcomings in the criminal justice system. To address these, universities, police and prosecutors should refine their approach to handling sexual assault cases.

For this article, I use "sexual assault" broadly to refer to nonconsensual sexual acts and "rape" to refer to nonconsensual penetration. I use the terms interchangeably when discussing such penetration. I use "survivor" to refer to someone who has experienced sexual assault.

In September 2026, an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit accusing multiple members of the Chi Phi fraternity of raping her at their house on October 19, 2024. Identified as Jane Doe, she claims she was incapacitated with alcohol, marijuana and ketamine. She was then sexually assaulted by multiple men of the Chi Phi fraternity, who are now defendants in this lawsuit. One of the men used a Snapchat group chat to invite others to participate. On November 8, 2024, Jane Doe reported her allegations of sexual assault to Cornell University Police. The Tompkins County District Attorney, Matthew Van Houten, declined to bring charges in January 2025 due to a lack of evidence.

Universities and Title IX

At Cornell and at large, Title IX Offices contain several shortcomings when it comes to investigating sexual assault. Title IX Offices are affiliated with each university and they are responsible for investigating sexual assault and providing support to survivors. These processes are separate from criminal investigations. Title IX proceedings have different burdens of proof and can lead to different consequences. Sometimes, Title IX and criminal procedures can be happening at the same time. There are several systemic failures with Title IX Offices that have been exposed by the case at Cornell. Title IX Offices can create confusion for survivors, fail to provide adequate transparency, impose light punishments, and are subject to shifting executive policies.

Cornell’s Title IX Office has demonstrated a lack of transparency and effectiveness in handling this case. Student groups argue that Cornell has failed to provide adequate transparency for the investigation, such as hiding the disciplinary actions given to each man involved. There are also questions about the effectiveness of Title IX offices. Cornell’s office handled 1,216 offenses from 2018 to 2024, and only 4% of those found the accused responsible. Only 21 cases led to suspension or expulsion, while written reprimands and other lighter punishments were far more common. In Jane Doe’s case, some of the accused men were merely asked to write essays, despite the severity of the allegations.

Title IX Offices at every university can create unnecessary confusion for survivors. One of the reasons for this is because it is an entirely separate process than a criminal investigation. It can be easy for a trauma-afflicted survivor to not understand the differences between these two systems. It can also be extremely painful for survivors to recount their trauma and give the same statements multiple times to different people. Title IX Offices can also be confusing because they are subject to varying executive policies. In the past decade, Presidents Trump and Biden have repeatedly changed Title IX guidelines in the back and forth. This lack of fixed policy can prevent survivors from coming forward, since they may be unwilling to relive their assault without a clear expectation of justice.

These issues can be addressed by universities working more closely with outside law enforcement. This would reduce the confusion caused by two completely separate systems and dampen the influences of politics on investigations. If a survivor chooses to pursue a criminal investigation, better coordination with interviews and evidence collection with law enforcement would reduce repetition for the survivor. Universities should also consider pauses in Title IX investigations to avoid overwhelming the survivor. When the criminal investigation concludes, universities should evaluate evidence under their own standard and should decide to continue a Title IX investigation without treating the decision to prosecute or a conviction as final.

Police Departments

If outside police are going to be more involved, they also have a lot to learn from how the Cornell University Police Department handled Jane Doe’s case. The Tompkins County DA claims the police failed to provide him with all the investigative files. Beyond just the Cornell University Police, police officers may not be trained to work with traumatized survivors or to handle rape kits. Furthermore, kits often get lost in backlogs waiting to be tested. Rape kits are critical pieces of evidence. They can ease the burden on the survivor to provide evidence they were assaulted and are very influential as evidence in trial. When it comes to interviews, a survivor may be unwilling or unable to recall every detail because of the trauma they’ve just faced. A lack of training leads many police officers to react with disbelief or dismissal. As a result, survivors may feel mistaken for trusting the police and less likely to cooperate. Fear of being dismissed could prevent survivors from ever reporting their experiences to police. Many also will not report because they fear retaliation from the offender, and do not believe they will be protected when a police department does not take their story seriously.

Police should be trained in properly handling rape kits and in working with traumatized survivors. Police must stop assuming things like delayed reporting and fragmented recollections are signs of false allegations, because they can also be signs of severe trauma. They must also be held to a higher standard when giving all relevant evidence to the District Attorney.

Prosecutors

Similarly prosecutors can also make it difficult for survivors to seek justice. In the Cornell 7 Case, Tompkins County DA Matthew Van Houten may not have thoroughly reviewed all the evidence before deciding not to pursue a criminal case. Because of potential evidence he may have missed, New York reopened the criminal case in September 2026. More broadly, this case represents greater systemic failure with how prosecutors handle sexual assault cases. Prosecutors often expect to rely heavily on the survivor’s account of events, which is many times not possible because of how the trauma is affecting the survivor. This important to prove nonconsent, which is necessary to prove rape. If a prosecutor does not believe the testimony of the survivor is strong enough, the case may be dismissed or dropped.

However, a prosecutor should not drop a rape case simply because a survivor is unable to provide strong testimony. There is plenty of other evidence that can be used to build a strong case without putting intense pressure on a traumatized survivor. Prosecutors should review all forensic evidence and police reports in their entirety, and interview other eyewitnesses before coming to a decision. Additionally, having more evidence to support a case may instill confidence in being taken seriously rather than scrutinized, encouraging a survivor to provide more detail. Prosecutors should also be trained in working with traumatized survivors, and should understand how trauma can affect memory and communication. Prosecutors should understand that inconsistencies in a survivor’s story may stem from trauma and aren’t automatically evidence of a false allegation.

State Law

New York State Law would’ve also been a barrier to prosecuting this case. New York has a voluntary intoxication exception.In rape cases, someone who voluntarily became intoxicated is not automatically assumed to be unable to consent to sexual activity. This distinction makes it difficult to prosecute rape because it adds an additional hurdle to proving nonconsent. This law should be amended. Just because someone consents to taking drugs or alcohol does not in any way mean they consent to any sexual activity. If someone is so intoxicated they aren’t able to consent to sexual activities, it shouldn’t matter whether they voluntarily became intoxicated.

Each of these reforms can have a significant impact on a survivor's ability to receive justice. Universities, police and prosecutors are all capable of investigating thoroughly and finding evidence to bring strong cases without putting unnecessary pressure on an already traumatized survivor. Treating survivors with respect and compassion rather than dismissal and disbelief will empower them to come forward and more willingly recount their trauma to seek justice. Universities, police, and prosecutors must learn from the Cornell 7 Case and reform their systems for investigating and prosecuting sexual assault to more effectively and compassionately deliver justice to traumatized survivors.