https://cornell7archive.com/timeline New entries in the sourced timeline of the Cornell Chi Phi case. A 32°N project. en-us Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-025 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-025 Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Gillio Lopes, one of the seven students named as defendants, files a petition in Albany County Supreme Court against the Attorney General and the Governor seeking to block the Attorney General's appointment as special prosecutor. The petition says she has "unequivocally demonstrated a bias and presumption of guilt against the defendants named in the Civil Case." He has denied sexually assaulting the plaintiff, according to NBC News. The Attorney General's office declined to comment. No court has ruled on the petition. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-024 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-024 Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 A special committee of Cornell's Board of Trustees retains Sally Q. Yates, a former U.S. Deputy Attorney General, and the law firm King & Spalding to review how Cornell prevents and responds to sexual misconduct, including campus police, coordination with prosecutors, and fraternities and sororities. The review will include "a detailed review of the University's response to the allegations involving Jane Doe," and the board says it intends to share the results with the Cornell community. No timeline was given. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-023 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-023 Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Thousands of students, faculty and Ithaca residents attend a "Justice for Survivors" rally on Ho Plaza organized by about 40 student groups, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. Speakers criticize Cornell's handling of the case; the graduate student union calls for President Kotlikoff to resign. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-022 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-022 Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 The New York Times reports that it obtained more than 1,000 pages of Cornell investigative records, police reports and interview transcripts. According to the Times, as reported by The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell's Title IX hearing panel concluded that two of the seven students sexually assaulted the plaintiff. The outcomes it describes: two students expelled; two suspended and placed on disciplinary probation, with no-contact orders, educational modules and reflection papers; one, who had graduated, barred from campus for three years; and two given no-contact orders, educational modules and reflection papers. These are findings of a university process, not of a court. We have not seen the records, and we do not say which student received which outcome (see our privacy policy). https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-021 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-021 Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 In a video message, President Michael I. Kotlikoff calls it "one of the most difficult weeks" in Cornell's history. He says the university supports the special prosecutor's appointment and an independent review, will examine the role of fraternities and sororities, and will support changes to New York's sexual assault laws. "We owe it to Jane Doe and to survivors of assault to get this right," he says. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-020 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-020 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Governor Kathy Hochul says the plaintiff was "failed" by people and institutions "with an obligation to protect her." She criticizes the District Attorney for closing the case without interviewing her "or anyone else involved, or even request[ing] the full transcript," and says her statement that she was "100% confident" she had been raped "never made it into the account that the Cornell police sent to prosecutors," citing news reports. The Attorney General will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-018 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-018 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 CNN reports that the District Attorney said this week his office had access to some Snapchat messages from the "Chi Phi Actives" group chat, and that it received no more than those messages and a six-page investigative report before deciding not to bring charges. Because this no longer clearly contradicts Cornell's statement that its police gave his office the Snapchat screenshot, we changed the label on C7-C-08 from Disputed to Unresolved. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-019 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-019 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Cornell's Student Assembly holds a public hearing on sexual violence, attended by about 100 people, and unanimously passes three resolutions about the case and sexual assault on campus, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-017 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-017 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Governor Kathy Hochul signs Executive Order No. 64, appointing Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. The order gives the Attorney General power to investigate the alleged assault and, "if warranted," present evidence to a grand jury and prosecute. It says her jurisdiction "will displace and supersede" that of the Tompkins County District Attorney. The order states that in November 2024 the District Attorney declined to prosecute "without speaking to Jane Doe" and relied in part on a sworn statement "which reportedly omitted key portions" of her account. Hochul says the new information "undercut my faith, and the public's faith, in the District Attorney's ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time." The Attorney General says she is ready "to lead a process New Yorkers can trust, guided by the facts and the law." Cornell says it supports the decision. The plaintiff's attorney welcomes it, according to NBC News. The District Attorney did not immediately respond to NBC News. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-016 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-016 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 District Attorney Matthew Van Houten tells NPR member station WSKG that he has not read the full account of the plaintiff's 2024 interviews with campus police and is trying to get the transcript from Cornell. He says he does not know when he will receive it "or if Cornell will resist turning it over." He says the transcript is part of Cornell's confidential Title IX investigation. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-015 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-015 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Cornell changes one answer in its FAQ at least twice, according to The Cornell Daily Sun and NPR member station WSKG. The original answer said Cornell University Police "shared all investigatory information" with the District Attorney's Office. On September 30 that sentence was removed; on October 1 it was replaced with a sentence saying the police shared "the victim's sworn statement and the Snapchat screenshot." The separate answer we quote in C7-E-020 has not changed. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-014 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-014 Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 In a video, Governor Kathy Hochul says she spoke with President Michael I. Kotlikoff and that Cornell has agreed to an independent review of its response by outside counsel. She says to expect an announcement from the university "in a fairly short order." Cornell has not yet said who will conduct the review or what it will cover. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-013 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-013 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 CBS News reports that it obtained, from a source, a transcript of the plaintiff's 2024 interview with Cornell University Police, which it says was the basis for her written statement. In it, according to CBS News, she says, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped." District Attorney Matthew Van Houten tells CBS News that his office was never given the full interview transcripts, and that the sworn statement it received in November 2024 did not include that remark. We have not seen the transcript. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-012 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-012 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James says the office is reviewing Cornell's response to the allegations, according to CNN. The office has not said what the review covers or what action, if any, it could take. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-011 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-011 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 New York Governor Kathy Hochul calls for "outside counsel to conduct a transparent, independent review of the university's response to determine whether Cornell met every obligation to protect its students and pursue justice." She says she supports the District Attorney's decision to reopen the criminal investigation. A Cornell spokesperson says the university "shares Governor Hochul's commitment to addressing campus culture issues." https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-010 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-010 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 At a meeting with student government, President Michael I. Kotlikoff says two of the accused students were expelled, two were suspended for at least two semesters, one graduated before any sanction could be imposed, and two were found not responsible for sexual misconduct, according to CBS News. He did not say which student received which outcome. Cornell has not published these figures in a written statement. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-009 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-009 Tue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Cornell publishes a list of questions and answers about its response, in an email signed by President Michael I. Kotlikoff, Provost Kavita Bala, and Board of Trustees chair Anne Meinig Smalling. It answers "No" to whether involved students "only had to write essays," and says it "imposed different sanctions based on the findings and circumstances involving each student," and that federal privacy law prevents it from giving "an individual-by-individual account." It also says Cornell University Police provided the Snapchat screenshot to the District Attorney "as part of the evidence supplied" in November 2024, which conflicts with what the District Attorney told ABC News. Cornell updated the page on September 30. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-008 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-008 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 The complaint alleges the students were temporarily suspended and allowed to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays. Cornell says none of them were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence, and that a hearing panel issued sanctions that included expulsions and suspensions. Cornell has not said which students received which sanctions, and the specific sanctions have not been independently verified. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-007 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-007 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Cornell says it supports the District Attorney's decision to take the case to a grand jury. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-006 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-006 Mon, 28 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announces his office is reopening the case and will present it to a grand jury. The office says the sworn statement it received in November 2024 differs substantially from the allegations in the civil complaint. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-005 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-005 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Jane Doe files a 101-page civil complaint in New York County Supreme Court. It names Cornell University, seven current and former students, fraternity and sorority organizations, and others, including a local bar. Reports differ on the filing date: some give September 14, the date on which the complaint is signed. The Governor's Executive Order No. 64 gives September 16. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-002 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-002 Fri, 08 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0400 According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe reported the incident to Cornell University Police on or about November 8, 2024, a few weeks after the alleged assault. The Tompkins County District Attorney's Office says it received a sworn statement from her in November 2024. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-004 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-004 Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0400 The District Attorney's Office reviewed information from Cornell University Police and did not file charges. The District Attorney has since said the plaintiff's sworn statement at the time did not establish a lack of consent under state law, and that the decision was based on the information his office had then. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-003 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-003 Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0400 On November 26, 2024, Cornell said the Chi Phi chapter had been under a temporary suspension order since November 8, 2024, for alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct, and that temporary suspensions had been issued for a number of students as interim measures. Cornell has since said its Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards investigated and adjudicated the allegations over several months, and that the chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus. The lawsuit alleges that Cornell's Title IX hearings took place in May 2025. https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-001 https://cornell7archive.com/timeline#c7-t-001 Sat, 19 Oct 2024 12:00:00 -0400 According to a civil complaint filed in 2026, a Cornell student identified in court papers as Jane Doe was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at the chapter house overnight. These allegations have not been established in court.