Letitia James names former prosecutor to lead reopened Cornell sexual assault probe

The appointment

New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Wednesday, 4 November, that Jacqueline Kelly will serve as outside counsel and lead a reopened criminal investigation into alleged sexual assault at Cornell University. Kelly is a Cornell alumna and a partner at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner. She left the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office last year to join the firm, and she will remain there while she conducts the probe. During nearly a decade in that office she was the inaugural chief of the civil rights unit in the criminal division, overseeing cases on civil rights, voting rights, sex crimes and hate crimes. She also oversaw high-profile cases involving music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and fashion executive Peter Nygard. James made the announcement a day after winning election to a third term.

Background to the case

The probe centres on allegations that seven fraternity members drugged and sexually assaulted a former Cornell student over seven hours in October 2024. The encounter described in her lawsuit began on 19 October 2024 at a fraternity house. The former student filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026 against the university and the men, and all of the men have denied wrongdoing. None of them has been charged with a crime. The Tompkins County district attorney, Matthew Van Houten, decided not to prosecute the case in 2024, and after the civil suit was filed the district attorney's office reopened the investigation. Cornell banned the Chi Phi fraternity after the allegations and, in October, suspended fraternity parties and other events until further notice.

Special prosecutor and legal challenge

Governor Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor on 1 October, saying she had lost faith in the ability of Van Houten to oversee the investigation. Hochul said that the people obligated to protect the student, including the police, had failed her. Two men named as defendants in the lawsuit are asking for James to be removed from the probe. They argue she is biased because of a social media post she made before her appointment that expressed support for the accuser, and a judge has yet to rule on the request. Separately, Cornell hired former prosecutor Sally Yates to review how the university handled the allegations.

Scope of the investigation

Kelly and a team of lawyers and investigators from her firm and the attorney general's office will gather evidence, interview witnesses, review investigative records and reports, and analyze the facts and applicable law. The team reports to James. In her statement, James praised Kelly's record of overseeing cases from investigation through trial.

“Jacqueline Kelly is a seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial.”

Kelly's own statement set out her aim plainly while the team examines the material. The appointment follows a weekslong search by the attorney general for a lawyer to take on a case that has put Cornell's campus in Ithaca, New York, in crisis.

“All New Yorkers deserve a fair and thorough inquiry into the facts of this case.”