New York Attorney General Letitia James says she's now pursuing 'active criminal investigation' into Cornell 7 gang-rape case

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she has launched an 'active criminal investigation' into the seven Cornell University fraternity brothers accused of a horrific gang rape.The case has roiled the Ivy League school after the alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a lawsuit in September claiming she was sexually assaulted in the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024.She filed a police report at the time, but Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to prosecute.Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday that she signed an executive order appointing James to oversee the case.At a press conference on Friday, the state attorney general officially said she has opened a criminal investigation into the disturbing allegations.'We will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions. I know that you want answers. I do too,' James said.'A comprehensive investigation of this nature takes time, but my office is committed to seeing it through. This is now an active criminal investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General.'She did note that her office is not investigating Van Houten for his decision not to charge the accused men. New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened an 'active criminal investigation' into the seven Cornell University fraternity brothers accused of a horrific gang rape The case has roiled the Ivy League school after the alleged victim, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a lawsuit in September claiming she was sexually assaulted in the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024'Our investigation is a criminal investigation based upon all of the facts. And so, at this point in time, we will not be focusing on the actions of the district attorney,' James said.Hochul added she is not calling for Van Houten or the Cornell president to step down at this time.'I don't have enough information at this time. Again, this is very early in the questioning. I'm not going to draw conclusions until I have the full picture,' the governor said.Van Houten said he supports James and Hochul's actions, and his office will cooperate with their investigation.'I support the appointment of Attorney General James, and I trust that she will examine the facts and apply the law,' he said in a statement.'It has become clear that we were not provided the full picture by the University. The focus has been and should continue to be on the victims. My office will cooperate fully with the Attorney General.'The decision comes after a newly released transcript shows the alleged victim told Cornell police she was '100 percent' confident she was assaulted.She described in the interview with a campus police investigator how she had been drinking and using drugs the night of the alleged attack and had gaps in her memory, according to a transcript obtained by CBS New York.One of the men allegedly posted to the fraternity's active-members Snapchat group saying that there was 'free p***y' upstairs, referring to Doe, according to the filing, which included an image of the purported chatStill, she was able to distinguish the initial sexual activity from what she said happened later in the night at Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity house.When she was asked whether she was OK with the initial encounter, for example, Jane Doe replied: 'Yeah, as much as I can be, because again, I was super drunk when I got there... But I was pretty OK with all of this.'And then, of course, I was being hit at the same time,' she added.The alleged victim then went on to say she did not remember the end of the night, 'where I was raped,' and did not know exactly how many people had sex with her.But when she described what happened to her that night, Jane Doe said: 'I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped.'Houten has said his decision not to bring charges against the seven alleged perpetrators was based on the contents of that signed 2024 statement.But he told CBS News on Tuesday he had never before seen the transcript showing what Jane Doe told campus police.The case gained renewed attention after Jane Doe filed a civil suit on September 16. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has said his decision not to bring charges against the seven alleged perpetrators was based on the contents of Jane Doe's signed 2024 statementIt alleges that Doe, then 20, arrived at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, already heavily intoxicated following a night of drinking in Ithaca.She alleges she was pressured to take ketamine and given marijuana and high-proof alcohol before being repeatedly sexually assaulted as additional fraternity members entered the room.The complaint alleges seven men eventually participated and that Doe became 'completely incapacitated.' She says the ordeal continued until around 5.45am, when she lost consciousness.It also claims that during the assault, one fraternity member posted to a 'Chi Phi Actives' Snapchat group that there was 'free p***y' upstairs, referring to Doe.'Like you can walk in and whip it out,' another member allegedly responded, according to a screenshot described in the filing.The defendants have not all publicly responded to the allegations, but at least two have denied wrongdoing.