名誉议长南希·佩洛西（加州民主党人）取消了一场即将举行的与康奈尔大学有关的活动，原因是这所常春藤盟校处理2024年校园轮奸指控的方式正受到新的审视。一位接近这位民主党议员的消息人士告诉《国会山报》，原定于10月15日在纽约市与康奈尔政治与全球事务研究所（IOPGA）合办的活动因“可怕的性侵指控以及对康奈尔应对方式的严重关切”而被取消。
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) canceled an upcoming event affiliated with Cornell University amid fresh scrutiny of how the Ivy League institution handled a 2024 allegation of gang rape on its campus. A source close to the Democratic lawmaker told The Hill that the Oct. 15 event in New York City with the Cornell Institute of Politics and Global Affairs (IOPGA) was canceled due to “the horrific sexual assault allegations and serious concerns about Cornell’s response.”
康奈尔大学独立学生报纸《康奈尔太阳报》率先报道了活动取消的消息。《国会山报》已联系康奈尔大学和IOPGA寻求置评。本周，在康奈尔大学一名前学生提起新诉讼、指控她2024年在一处兄弟会会所内被下药并遭轮奸后，州检察官重新启动了调查。这名在诉讼中被称为“简·多伊”的女性指控该兄弟会七名成员对她下药，并在她无法表示同意的情况下对她实施了长达数小时的侵害。
The Cornell Sun, the university’s independent student newspaper, was the first to report on the event’s cancelation. The Hill has reached out to Cornell and the IOPGA for comment. State prosecutors reopened an investigation this week after a former Cornell student filed a new lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang raped inside a fraternity house in 2024. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the suit, is accusing seven members of the fraternity of drugging her and assaulting her for several hours when she was unable to consent.
汤普金斯县地区检察官马修·范霍滕表示，2024年未提起刑事指控，是因为简·多伊最初向警方所作的陈述“并未声称她是在违背意愿的情况下被下药或遭到轮奸”。这名女性的律师对这一说法提出异议，并指责对此案的初步调查不充分。周四，纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔（民主党人）签署行政命令，任命州总检察长莱蒂蒂娅·詹姆斯（民主党人）为此案的特别检察官，理由是对康奈尔大学警察局和范霍滕处理最初调查的方式存在“严重关切”。
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said criminal charges were not filed in 2024 because Jane Doe’s original statement to police “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.”The woman’s attorneys disputed this account and accused the initial investigation into this case of being inadequate. On Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed an executive order to appoint state Attorney General Letitia James (D) as the special prosecutor in this case, citing “serious concerns” with how Cornell’s police department and Van Houten handled the original investigation.
这位州长在社交媒体上发布的一份声明中说：“这起案件的核心当事人应该知道，每一个事实都会被审查，正义将被追求。”
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” the governor said in a statement shared on social media.
“此举将确保此事在无利益冲突或偏见的情况下得到全面彻底的调查，并以该事项所要求的严谨态度独立处理。”这起新诉讼引发了议员们的谴责，康奈尔大学校友、密歇根州民主党参议员埃莉萨·斯洛特金周三在国会山接受TMZ采访时，呼吁她的母校“挺身而出”。“我们知道机构辜负女性时是什么样子，”这位民主党人说。“所以无论是我所在的大学还是任何人的大学，显然在问责方面存在某种拖延，这必须结束。”
“This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands.”The new lawsuit has elicited condemnation from lawmakers, with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a Cornell alumna, calling on her alma mater to “step up” in a Wednesday interview with TMZ on Capitol Hill. “We know what it’s like when institutions fail women,” the Democrat said. “And so whether it’s my university or anyone’s university, clearly there’s been some sort of delay in accountability and that needs to end.”