Cornell police made drug arrest hours before alleged sexual assault

Cornell University police made a drug-related arrest at a fraternity house 22 hours before a former student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted there, according to police records.

The Cornell Daily Sun reported Saturday that campus police responded to the Chi Phi fraternity house shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2024, made a drug-related arrest and referred an individual to the university’s Office of Student Conduct.

The archived police log cited by the Sun and reviewed by NBC News does not identify the individual or the drugs involved or establish a connection between the drug incident and the alleged assault later that night.

NBC News has reached out to Cornell University and its police department for comment.

The former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit last month against the university and seven Chi Phi brothers, alleging she was sexually assaulted over the course of hours that night while she was under the influence of ketamine, alcohol and marijuana.

In a police interview conducted after the alleged assault and documented in records obtained by NBC News, a woman told investigators she had seen a fraternity member with a bag of ketamine about two months earlier. She also said he had previously overdosed and been transported for treatment. The interview does not establish when that occurred or whether she witnessed it.

Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said in a video message Saturday afternoon that what Jane Doe alleges is “deeply disturbing” and raised questions about the investigation that followed.

“I believe we as an administration, and we as a community, must do better,” he said.

NBC News reported Friday that Cornell police interviewed witnesses and received anonymous tips in the first weeks of their investigation, but Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten did not review that additional information before deciding not to bring charges.

Van Houten said he based his decision on Jane Doe’s initial six-page statement to police, which he argued did not allege criminality. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has said authorities failed to conduct a thorough investigation and prejudged the events based on her statement that she had consented to parts of the night.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to consider whether criminal charges are appropriate.

“In what world does the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved, or even request the full transcript” of her interview, Hochul asked at a news conference Friday.