student said she was the victim of  criminal sex acts  at the hands of seven fraternity members at the Chi Phi National Xi Chapter's fraternity house on Cornell's campus in October of 2024 after drinking so much she was  incapable of consenting. 

The lawsuit also alleged one of the men posted in a Snapchat group of fraternity members that there was  free p----  upstairs, and that some of the men pressured the already-intoxicated student into using ketamine.

The district attorney said this week he plans to present the renewed case to a grand jury.

 I recognize the reality that it can take years of therapy and healing for victims of sexual assaults to fully process and understand what happened to them. Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence,  Van Houten said Monday.  The Grand Jury will be able to consider the testimony of Jane Doe as well as any new evidence raised by the allegations of the civil complaint. 

Expert: New York legal  loophole  could make prosecution challenging

Jane Doe's lawsuit says that when she arrived at the fraternity house she was  visibly intoxicated  and had  consumed about 10 standard drinks within the past 3 hours. 

Seth Zuckerman, a former New York prosecutor and founder of the Zuckerman Legal Group, told Scripps News the prosecutor is in a difficult position because of the way the state's laws pertaining to consent are written.

 In New York, the law is that victims are only mentally incapacitated if they were drugged or intoxicated without their knowledge of consent,  Zuckerman said.  We refer to this as the  voluntary intoxication loophole.' 

 It creates a legal hurdle for prosecutors when the victim is allegedly so heavily intoxicated that they can't give consent, but they voluntarily intoxicated themselves,  Zuckerman said.

Cornell posts detailed FAQ to respond to mounting public questions about case

Cornell University posted a FAQ page this week to respond to questions and  provide additional information and clarification  about the case.

In it, the university detailed its process of investigating the 2024 allegations, provided some information about the disciplinary actions taken against the students involved in the incident, and laid out what it has done in the meantime to address the issue of sexual assault on campus.

 We will continue to examine and strengthen our policies to ensure we are doing all we can to foster a culture where sexual misconduct is never tolerated, those who come forward are supported, and individuals found responsible through our processes are held accountable,  the FAQ reads.