October 2, 2026:
Published
One of the 7 Cornell frat brothers accused of gang raping a fellow student allegedly called a sorority member to instruct a friend of hers not to discuss what she “thinks” may have happened on the night in question.
The sorority member — who was at Chi Phi the night of the alleged gang rape — told investigators one of the accused rang her up the next day to make sure a friend of hers didn’t “say anything that she thinks might’ve happened last night” … CBS News reports.
She ended up passing the message along, and her friend told investigators that the message “clicked” when Cornell sent an alert email about the sexual assault.
That friend told investigators … “It makes a lot more sense … And it was very concerning.”
She and her roommate eventually talked to the Cornell University Police Department … but she told investigators that she didn’t know what came of her statement.
As for the accused … he first denied ever making that phone call in his chat with investigators before changing his tune in a written correction a month later … saying that the conversation’s topic was about “not spreading any rumors.”
He also said in his initial interview that the frat’s game plan about the rumors was “just deny.”
As you know … Tompkins D.A. Matt Van Houten declined to pursue charges … but he said that he was only given the victim’s sworn statement and the Snapchat group chat messages by Cornell.
He then reopened the case … and said he planned to present a grand jury with evidence.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has since appointed Attorney General Letitia James‘ office to handle the case going forward … saying she did not have confidence in the Tompkins D.A.