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NEW YORK: New York Governor Kathy Hochul vowed on Friday to close a legal loophole allowing offenders in the state to avoid rape charges if their victims were willingly intoxicated, as in the case of an alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
There has been an outcry in the United States over a decision by prosecutors not to file charges in the case at the Ivy League college two years ago, prompting the governor to appoint state Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor.
The investigation was reopened on Monday after the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit, fueling allegations that the elite college failed to properly hold the men accountable.
The alleged victim said in her lawsuit that in 2024 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 license for sexual assault or gang rape. Period,” Hochul said 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.
