On the record · Updated October 1, 2026

Matthew Van Houten quotes

Tompkins County District Attorney

5 things Matthew Van Houten said, verbatim, from September 30, 2026 to October 1, 2026, each linked to where it ran. Grouped by the questions at issue, with who supported, disputed, or qualified each one.

4stories

5statements

Oct 1latest entry

Positions

The 2024 criminal investigation was thorough enough to justify not bringing charges against the Chi Phi members.

Supports Oct 1

“Multiple prosecutors and criminal investigators reviewed Jane Doe’s statement and correctly determined the alleged facts as set forth in the statement do not constitute a crime.”

CNN Cornell agrees to an outside inquiry as prosecutors reopen the Chi Phi rape case ›

Others on this question

Mimi Rocah former Westchester County district attorney Disputes

“If you’re an investigator trying to get at the truth, as this DA office should have been, they should have sought more information”

Thomas P. Giuffra attorney for Jane Doe Disputes

“It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint”

Suri Crow MeidasTouch host Supports

When I first looked at the facts and statements of this story, it made sense to me from a legal and reporter's perspective, which is not necessarily the same as the outrage in the public square or on social media, which has exploded over this story why the Tompkins County DA, Matthew Van Houten, did not pursue criminal charges back in 2024.

Cornell police gave the Tompkins County district attorney everything from their 2024 investigation.

Disputes Oct 1

“We never received it and still don’t have it. It was not part of what Cornell provided to us. We got the six page statement and nothing more except for the Snapchat video,”

CNN Cornell agrees to an outside inquiry as prosecutors reopen the Chi Phi rape case ›

Others on this question

Cornell University spokesperson university spokesperson Supports

“The Cornell University Police Department investigated the matter in 2024 and shared all investigatory information with the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office, which is the established protocol if the department believes it is possible a crime has occurred”

Matthew Van Houten on Courts & the law3

As printed Sep 30

“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.”

on his reason for reopening a Cornell sexual assault case he earlier declined to charge

CNN Alleged gang rape at Cornell turns spotlight on campus sexual assault ›

As printed Sep 30

“Jane Doe's sworn statement in November 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped,”

on why his office declined charges in 2024 in the Cornell case

Reason Magazine Beware the Rush to Judgment in the Cornell Rape Case ›

As printed Sep 30

“My office obviously did not and could not have based our November 2024 decision on the allegations in a civil lawsuit that would not be filed until nearly two years later,”

The Federalist The Last Elite University ‘Gang Rape’ Was A Hoax. Cornell Might Have One Now, Too ›

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