Sunny Hostin calls Cornell case ‘morally repugnant’ as she explains New York’s consent law
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The former federal prosecutor explained why she finds the ordeal “morally repugnant.”
In her role as a co-host on “The View,” Sunny Hostin used her experience as a former sex crime prosecutor to detail why there were no criminal charges filed initially in the alleged 2024 rape incident at Cornell University. A lawsuit filed by a victim identified as Jane Doe, who accused members of the Chi Phi fraternity of gang rape, continues to unfold in the public eye, with questions about the lack of prosecution, as Doe filed a lawsuit in which she alleges she was pressured into snorting ketamine and drinking alcohol.
According to Hostin, despite the graphic details of Doe’s statement, she would not have filed charges under New York law.
“I always look at this as a former sex crimes prosecutor. In [Washington] D.C., this case would have gone to trial. I would have prosecuted this case,” she explained. “The problem is the New York law. This is a morally repugnant case. It is grotesque when you read the details. I feel terrible about how this happened. Why do these kids, why do they have ketamine? Why is there no upstanding upstander? You want the young man to go upstairs and say, ‘Shut this down.’ You want more people to do that. But New York makes it incredibly impossible to prosecute a case like this.”
The 57-year-old continued to elaborate, “You would have to be unconscious or involuntarily drugged, like slipped a drug, in order to charge this case. And that’s why it wasn’t charged in 2024. And I will tell you there are 19 other states that have this same law. She later explained that advocates have pushed to change this law for eight years.
“Shame on the legislators that have not changed this law…They need to change it now.”
As described by “PBS,” the “voluntary intoxication loophole” makes it difficult to prosecute a person who engaged in sexual activity with another person who voluntarily became intoxicated to the point where their ability to consent was compromised. Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Missouri are among the 19 states have similar constraints. Each state previously listed is home to at least one large college campus.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Letitia James confirmed that the state office is reviewing how the university initially responded to the allegations. The move follows Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement that she had ordered an independent review of Cornell’s resolution. The Tompkins County district attorney’s office initially declined to prosecute after reviewing the woman’s 2024 statement, according to District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.
As previously reported, Cornell representatives confirmed it conducted a separate Title IX investigation and imposed sanctions that included expulsions and suspensions as well as banning the Chi Phi fraternity from campus.
Watch the full conversation on “The View” below.