Mariska Hargitay condemns Cornell rape case handling, supports accuser

Mariska Hargitay is joining the chorus of people demanding accountability for a former Cornell University student's alleged rape.

The unnamed woman, who was 20 when she was allegedly drugged and the victim of a "gang rape" in October 2024, named seven former members of Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity, the fraternity's since-shuttered Xi chapter, the university, her Tri Delta sorority and its Alpha Beta chapter, among other defendants in a civil lawsuit filed Sept. 16. The suit alleges sexual assault and battery, negligence and a violation of the state's Human Rights Law, among other counts.

Following the bombshell lawsuit, the district attorney of Tompkins County, New York, said on Sept. 28 that his office would reopen the case. No criminal charges resulted from Jane Doe's sworn statement submitted to the Cornell University Police Department in November 2024 because there was "no evidence" that "she clearly expressed that she did not consent to the act" while under the influence of ketamine and alcohol, according to DA Matthew Van Houten.

A joint statement from Hargitay and her Joyful Heart Foundation, posted Sept. 27, read: "A Cornell student says she was never told the outcome of her own Title IX case, and the men…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/entertainment/