Cornell Tipster Says She Feels 'Betrayed'

A Cornell student who says she handed campus police key leads in an alleged 2024 gang rape case now says she and others feel "betrayed" over how seriously it was pursued. Speaking anonymously to NBC News, the student describes sharing a screenshot from a Chi Phi fraternity group chat that referred to "free p----" in the frat house room where Jane Doe says she was given drugs and assaulted, as well as details about alleged drug use at the fraternity. She assumed the information, which "horrified" her, would be fully investigated.

Police records reviewed by NBC show campus officers interviewed multiple witnesses and took anonymous tips but did not forward the material to the local prosecutor. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who declined to file charges, has said he didn't know Jane Doe confidently alleged there had been a rape, per CBS News. He also claimed witness interviews largely consisted of the seven suspects "telling the police that they would not speak to them," per NewsNation. The case is now in the hands of New York Attorney General Letitia James, appointed as special prosecutor.