NEW YORK, United States

(AFP) — New York Governor

Kathy Hochul vowed last

Friday to close a legal

loophole that makes it harder

to prosecute rape cases if

the victims were willingly

intoxicated amid an uproar

over an alleged gang rape at

Cornell University.

The accuser in that case

has filed a civil lawsuit over

the alleged 2024 attack at the

Ivy League school, casting a

harsh spotlight on a decision

by prosecutors not to file any

criminal charges at the time.

The investigation into the

incident was reopened last

Monday, and Hochul has appointed state Attorney General

Letitia James as a special

prosecutor, as anger mounts

over allegations that Cornell

failed to properly hold the men

accountable.

In her civil suit, the woman

says she was drugged with

ketamine, assaulted and raped

by seven members of the Chi

Phi fraternity, a social club for

male students.

“It should not matter whether

they chose to use drugs or

alcohol. Voluntary intoxication is not a licence for sexual

assault or gang rape. Period,”

Hochul said last Friday.

“I support closing this

loophole and will work with

the New York state legislature

to accomplish this.”

Several US states, including

New York, have provisions in

their laws making it harder for

prosecutors to bring charges

against someone who engaged

in sex with a person who voluntarily became intoxicated

to the point where they could

not meaningfully give — or

withhold — consent.

“It’s just astounding that this

loophole still exists,” Shiwali

Patel, the senior director of education justice at the National

Women’s Law Center, told

AFP.

“It does have a huge impact

on college cases because the

reality is that a significant

majority of campus sexual

assaults do involve alcohol

and drugs.”

n the United States, one

in four female undergraduates reported forced sexual

contact or sexual contact

for which they could not

consent, according to a 2020

study of 33 institutions by

the Association of American

Universities.

‘Deeply disturbed

Hochul slammed how the

initial investigation into the

complainant’s claims unfolded

at Cornell, which is in Ithaca in

central New York state.

“She sat for hours and told

[police] exactly what happened

to her. And according to new

reports, she could not have

been clearer that she was 100

per cent confident that she had

been raped,” Hochul said.

“In what world would the

police learn from a victim that

she’d been literally gang-raped

while intoxicated… in the fraternity house, and not elevate

those allegations to the district

attorney?”

James, a Democrat who has

clashed repeatedly with US

President Donald Trump, said

last Friday she would “review

the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses, and if warranted, pursue prosecutions.”

Tompkins County District

Attorney Matthew Van Houten

said last week that he planned

to file criminal charges against

the seven men.

He said his office declined to

prosecute in 2024 because the

complainant’s testimony did

not establish a lack of consent.

Following the allegations,

Cornell shut down the fraternity and suspended the students

allegedly involved, several of

whom were later expelled.

Lawyer Thomas Giuffra,

who represents the alleged

victim, told CBS News that

his client was “incapable of

consent” because she was

“completely, grossly intoxicated” when she arrived at the

frat house.

“I’m more and more convinced there was a cover-up”

to protect the university’s reputation, Giuffra added.

Cornell’s student body held a

campus meeting last Thursday

at which emotions ran high.

Speakers repeatedly

attacked college administrators for their handling of the

case, which has garnered nationwide attention.

“No public official gets to

look the other way when

the system breaks down and

fails our young people. And

as governor, I will not allow

anyone to sweep this case

under the rug,” Hochul said

last Friday.

“I am deeply disturbed by

Cornell University’s police and

how they handled this.”

In Washington, Trump

lashed out at James’s involvement as special prosecutor, saying: “I feel badly

for whoever she’s looking at,

because they won’t get a fair

shake.”