Cornell police made drug arrest 22 hours before alleged assault, records show
Archived campus logs show a drug-related arrest at Chi Phi before the alleged assault, but do not link the two incidents.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
Cornell drug arrest assault records show campus police made a drug-related arrest at the Chi Phi fraternity house shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2024, NBC News reported. The arrest came 22 hours before a former student says she was drugged and sexually assaulted at the house later that night.
The timing is documented in an archived Cornell University Police Department log reviewed by NBC News. The log does not identify the person arrested, name the drugs involved or establish any connection between the early-morning incident and the later allegation.
Was the Cornell drug arrest linked to the alleged assault?
There is no documented link in the available police log. It records the drug-related arrest and says an individual was referred to Cornell’s Office of Student Conduct, but it does not say whether that person was involved in the alleged assault or whether either incident involved ketamine.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court records, later filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell and seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers. She alleges that she was sexually assaulted over several hours on Oct. 19, 2024, while under the influence of ketamine, alcohol and marijuana, according to NBC News.
Those are allegations in a civil case, not findings about the separate arrest. The police record does not identify Jane Doe, any of the defendants in her lawsuit or any other person as the subject of the drug-related arrest.
What is the status of the Cornell assault investigation?
The original criminal investigation was closed without charges in 2024, according to an Associated Press report published by PBS NewsHour. After Jane Doe filed her lawsuit, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reopened the investigation.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul later appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to oversee the matter, the AP reported. The attorney general will oversee the investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury.
Cornell has said it conducted its own disciplinary investigation. The university said sanctions included expulsions and suspensions, and that the Xi chapter of Chi Phi was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus, according to AP reporting and the BBC.
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said the allegations raised questions about the investigation that followed, NBC News reported. The archived arrest entry adds a documented event to that timeline, but it does not establish that the arrest and the alleged assault were connected.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.