MONTICELLO, NY — A hearing regarding the appointment of Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to the Cornell sexual assault case will be held in Sullivan County on October 29.

The Cornell case, filed on behalf of former student “Jane Doe” on September 14, alleges that seven Cornell fraternity brothers were responsible for sexually assaulting Doe for several hours two years ago on October 19 and 20, 2024. 

The complaint lists the Chi Phi fraternity, Cornell University, Moonies Bar & Nightclub and Delta Delta Delta sorority as defendants.

Cornell conducted a Title IX investigation on the initial report before asking the Tompkins County District Attorney’s office to review Doe’s statements and determine whether criminal charges should be prosecuted.

In November 2024, the Tompkins DA’s office decided not to pursue criminal charges. The Tompkins DA, Matthew Van Houten, released a statement in September explaining why charges weren’t initially pursued and stated the case would be reopened. 

On October 1, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order assigning Attorney General Letitia James as special counsel to the case. Hochul stated that she made this decision due to the Tompkins DA not conducting a thorough investigation by interviewing Doe and requesting the full transcript of her statement. 

One of the fraternity members listed as a defendant in the Cornell case, Gillio Lopes, has now challenged this decision.

Doe’s lawsuit alleges that Lopes is responsible for sexual assault.

The October 29 hearing

The petition, filed on behalf of defendant Lopes, asks the court to void the appointment of Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. 

The court filings cite that three days prior to Hochul’s appointment of James, James posted to the attorney general’s X account stating the following regarding the case: “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”

The petition furthers that this social media post demonstrates James’s “bias and presumption of guilt against the defendants” and that she has already “formed an opinion about the case” 

Due to this alleged bias, Lopes’s attorneys are asking that James be removed from participating in the legal proceedings. 

Attorneys representing Hochul, James and Lopes will attend the October 29 hearing at 2 p.m presided by Judge James Farrell at the Sullivan County Courthouse.

The proceeding will not determine guilt of any parties and solely serve as a deciding factor in whether James proceeds as special counsel in the case or not.

Editor’s note: Representatives for petitioner Lopes did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. The Attorney General’s office confirmed that the hearing would take place, but had no further comment.