Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten confirmed on September 28 that his office has reopened its investigation into an alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity house. He said he will present the case against seven alleged perpetrators to a grand jury.

The decision follows a civil lawsuit filed this month by the alleged victim, who was then a 20-year-old Cornell student. The lawsuit alleges she was plied with alcohol and drugs to the point of intoxication and assaulted. It also says fraternity members used a Snapchat group chat called “Chi Phi Actives” to encourage others to join, and that the assaults continued until about 5:45 a.m.

Van Houten said the civil complaint’s allegations differ dramatically from the woman’s 2024 statement to campus police, which described drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious and consensual. No charges were filed at the time.

The victim’s lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, told CNN the police report was not materially different from the lawsuit’s claims and criticized the office for not investigating sooner.