Cornell rape probe handed to Manhattan prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday that Jacqueline Kelly will lead the reopened criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University. Kelly is a former Manhattan federal prosecutor who oversaw high-profile cases against Sean Combs and Peter Nygård. She will serve as outside counsel for the state's investigation.

The probe was triggered by a lawsuit filed in September by a former student. The student alleged that several men raped her at a fraternity party in October 2024. James was appointed as special prosecutor for the case on October 1 by Gov. Kathy Hochul. This appointment came a day before James won election to a third term as attorney general.

Kelly and a team from her firm, Boies Schiller Flexner, along with investigators from the attorney general's office, will gather evidence and interview witnesses. They will also review investigative records and analyze applicable law. The team will report directly to James. James said she lost faith in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who declined to bring charges in 2024.

Kelly graduated from Cornell University and Columbia Law School. She served as a prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office for nearly a decade. During that time, she led the civil rights unit in the criminal division. She handled investigations into civil rights offenses, voting rights violations, sex crimes, and hate crimes. She left the office last year to join Boies Schiller Flexner.

James described Kelly as a seasoned prosecutor with judicial experience. "With her criminal legal expertise, commitment to public service, and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation," James said in a statement. Kelly said she looks forward to lending her years of experience to the Office of the Attorney General.

The former student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, alleged that men pressured her into using ketamine and marijuana. She said she drank alcohol that left her too intoxicated to consent. She reported the incident to campus police and the university's Title IX office a few weeks later. The case raised questions about how universities and local prosecutors respond to campus sexual assaults.

Two men named as defendants in the lawsuit want the attorney general removed from the investigation. They argue James is biased because of a social media post she made before her appointment that expressed support for the accuser. A judge has not yet ruled on their request. Van Houten said he would restart the investigation, but a lawyer for the accuser said the district attorney was preparing to bring the matter to a grand jury within two weeks.

As a federal prosecutor, Kelly supervised the prosecution of Ricardo Cruciani, a neurologist convicted of molesting patients. She also handled the case of Jesus Concepcion, a music teacher sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2024 for abusing five students. Kelly also prosecuted members of the Lucchese crime family. At her current firm, she focuses on regulatory and criminal investigations and represents victims of sexual assault.

Cornell hired former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates last month to review the school's handling of sexual assault and harassment. Yates will look at the disciplinary process and the campus police response. James has said her investigation will take months. Her office has previously used outside counsel to assist in investigations, including the 2021 probe into sexual harassment allegations against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.