The Cornell University Chi Phi fraternity sexual assault case took a new turn on October 7, when an attorney for defendant Gillio Lopes filed a petition in New York State Supreme Court in Albany County seeking to remove Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. The argument: James publicly sided with the accuser before taking the job, and therefore has prejudged the case.
James was appointed October 1 by Governor Kathy Hochul to reopen the criminal investigation into the alleged October 2024 gang rape at a Chi Phi fraternity house party, replacing Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who had declined to bring charges. None of the seven accused men has been criminally charged; Lopes denies the allegations.
Lopes' attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, points to a post James published on X on September 28 — three days before her appointment — in which she wrote that what the accuser "has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable" and that "we stand with you," referring to her as a "survivor."
Miltenberg says there is nothing wrong with expressing compassion toward an alleged victim, but the wording can reasonably be read as James accepting the central factual premises of the allegations before independently reviewing the evidence. He stressed this is not a political attack or an accusation of corruption: "This is not an accusation that Attorney General James is corrupt, acting in bad faith, or incapable of performing her duties professionally."
Miltenberg told the New York Post and Fox News that the better institutional course would be for James to voluntarily recuse herself and hand the investigation to "a prosecutor who has made no prior statements concerning the merits of these allegations." He added: "Our concern is not political or personal. It is about confidence in the integrity and independence of this investigation."
The petition was filed about a week after the appointment was announced. Such an arrangement, Miltenberg said, "would strengthen" public confidence in the eventual findings.
James' office responded that the investigation will be conducted "fully and fairly," guided by "the facts and the law." She had posted after her appointment vowing her office would investigate the matter thoroughly and impartially.
Notably, President Donald Trump weighed in on October 3, saying the seven accused would not get a "fair shake" from James and calling her corrupt. Miltenberg distanced his filing from that framing, emphasizing his request is procedural and apolitical.
The case began with a civil lawsuit filed September 16 by an anonymous plaintiff, "Jane Doe," alleging she was drugged with ketamine and gang-raped by seven fraternity members at the October 2024 party. After the original prosecutor declined criminal charges when the case was reported in 2024, Governor Hochul stepped in, bypassing the local district attorney and handing the reopened criminal investigation to James.
The petition is now before the Albany County Supreme Court, with no hearing date set. James' office has not said whether she will step aside or assign the case to another prosecutor.