New York lawmakers push sexual assault law changes after alleged Cornell gang rape

New York City, United States. Some New York lawmakers are renewing calls to revise the state’s sexual assault laws to make cases involving intoxicated victims easier to prosecute. The push follows renewed outrage over an alleged 2024 gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity house.

Prosecutor cites limits of current law

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said this week that his office initially declined to pursue charges against the students accused of raping the woman partly because of constraints in New York law.

The law distinguishes between victims who became intoxicated voluntarily, including by willingly consuming alcohol or drugs, and those who were given intoxicants without their consent or knowledge. Only the latter can be considered “mentally incapacitated” and therefore unable to consent.

The alleged Cornell victim appears to have consumed intoxicants voluntarily. According to experts and advocates, that distinction can make certain rape charges harder to bring, even when intoxication affected a victim’s ability to agree to a sexual act.

“It’s essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card in some situations,” said Stefan Turkheimer, vice president for public policy at the anti-sexual assault nonprofit Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). “It says, if someone is sexually assaulted because they got too high or too drunk, it’s their fault.”

Lawmakers seek changes to consent provisions

State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who has sponsored legislation for years to close what he describes as loopholes in the law, is again promoting a bill that would allow rape charges if a perpetrator reasonably should have known a victim was unable to consent because of intoxication.

“Rape is the only crime that I’m aware of where, if the victim was drunk, they may not get justice,” Dinowitz said in an interview. “There shouldn’t be any difference in terms of the survivors of sexual assault between the people who are voluntarily intoxicated and who are involuntarily intoxicated.”

Dinowitz and State Senator Nathalia Fernandez, who co-sponsored the legislation, are scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday in New York City to rally support for the bill.

Investigation to be reopened after lawsuit

The renewed legislative effort comes days after Van Houten said he would reopen the investigation following a civil lawsuit filed by the alleged victim against seven Chi Phi fraternity members, Cornell University and several other defendants.

The lawsuit alleges that fraternity brothers plied her with alcohol and ketamine, then sexually assaulted her after she became incapacitated.