ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) — Governor Hochul has appointed a special prosecutor in a potential criminal case at Cornell University.

An executive order was issued Thursday naming Attorney General Letitia James to oversee an alleged 2024 Cornell group sex assault case.

“Newly released information continues to raise serious questions about the investigation conducted by the Cornell Police Department and the decision by the Tompkins County District Attorney not to prosecute an alleged sexual assault on Cornell University’s campus in October 2024,” Hochul said. “This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time.”

Tonight, I signed an executive order appointing Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the Cornell sexual assault case.

New information has raised serious questions about how this case was handled, and I’ve lost faith in the Tompkins County DA’s ability to… pic.twitter.com/R1YvXc3TPa

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) October 2, 2026

Earlier this week, District Attorney Matt Van Houten confirmed his office has re-opened the case after a former student, known as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit last month claiming she was drugged and raped by 7 male students at a Cornell fraternity party.