The Free Press · October 9, 2026 · By Helen Andrews

Hochul Assigns Cornell Case to Attorney General James as Special Prosecutor

• In late September 2026, two years after the Tompkins County district attorney declined to bring charges over an alleged 2024 rape at a Cornell University fraternity house, New York governor Kathy Hochul handed the case to Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor.
• On October 3, Hochul said she had “lost faith in the Tompkins County DA’s ability” to handle the case, and said: “The image gives them comfort to know that two women perhaps are looking at this differently than men would in the same position.” Hochul is the first woman to serve as New York’s governor; James is the state’s first female attorney general.
• The district attorney is Matthew Van Houten; he did not bring charges because, on the basis of the accuser’s sworn statement, no crime had occurred. He described the conduct as “voluntary, conscious, and consensual.”

Timeline, officeholders, and quoted statements as reported in the column; the case facts are as stated by the cited officials, not independently verified here. Original headline: "The Great Feminization Comes to Cornell".