Newly obtained documents reviewed by CNN show Cornell University police drafted letters to wireless carriers about a week after a student now known as Jane Doe told police she had been sexually assaulted by members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024.
The revelation has raised more questions about what information university police shared with prosecutors before the local district attorney’s office declined to file charges in 2024. Doe’s rape allegations, described in a recently filed lawsuit, have sparked nationwide debate over how universities handle sexual assault allegations.
It has also spurred demonstrations both on and off campus, including a rally on Monday demanding “Justice for Survivors.”
The drafts of the letters to the wireless carriers, addressed to Verizon and T-Mobile on November 15, 2024, said Cornell police were “investigating a sexual assault incident, wherein it is believed that the account/phone number listed below may contain evidence pertinent to the ongoing investigation.”
They said a signed warrant would be sent within 30 days and told the phone companies to “preserve all available data” associated with the accounts, including emails, text messages, phone calls, pictures and video messages.
It’s not clear whether investigators actually sent the letters to the companies, whether campus police followed up with subpoenas or whether Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten – whose office initially investigated the case – was aware of the records request by police.
CNN has asked Verizon and T-Mobile whether they received the requests from Cornell and if they complied with the request to preserve the records.
The timing of the documents suggests Cornell police investigators were actively investigating the alleged rape.
