Fraternity Members at Cornell Cleared of Sexual Abuse Charges

An Ithaca, N.Y., grand jury decided not to indict two Cornell University students for their alleged sexual abuse of two Brown University women at a Valentine's Day fraternity party, the Tompkins County district attorney's office announced Thursday.

But even though the grand jury cleared the men of the women's accusations, Cornell may still expel or suspend them after it completes its ongoing investigation of whether the students violated the school's code of conduct, university officials said.

The Brown women, whose names have not been released, accused sophomore David W. Krumsiek and junior Patrick J. Flanagan, both members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, of first degree sexual abuse after a Valentine's Day semiformal.

The two fraternity members, who have refused to make public comment, could have been imprisoned for up to seven years if they had been found guilty of first degree sexual abuse.

The country's dropping the charges "does not have any effect on Cornell's action in the case," said Thomas J. McCormick, the the university's judicial administrator. The university's penal investigation, still in progress, is completely independent of the district attorney's office, he said.

Cornell's Judicial Administrative Office this month charged the students with violating the school's code of conduct.

The university is investigating the students for either threatening or using "physical force to injure, abuse, intimidate or coerce another person," said David I. Stewart, assistant vice-president of university relations.

The University Hearing Board, composed of three students, one staff member and one faculty member, will decide next month what disciplinary action, if any, the university will take, McCormick said.

The grand jury's decision not to indict Krumsiek and Flanagan does not apply to related charges against two other fraternity members accused of serving alcohol to the Brown women, who are underage, said a spokesman for the district attorney's office.

The district attorney's office has not made any statement about the alcohol charges, the spokesman said, adding that she did not know when any decision will be made.

The sexual abuse case has brought students to question the role of Cornell's Greek system in campus life and has sparked new awareness "on the whole issue of sexual abuse," said Sara-Ellen Amster, a reporter for The Cornell Daily Sun.

Early this month anti-fraternity vandals painted and damaged the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house. In addition, the The Daily Sun recently printed a petition signed by more than 300 women supporting the Brown women's right to publicly announce their alleged assault, Amster said.

But there has also been some skepticism whether the assaults actually occurred, said senior Cynthia L. Franklin. "My feeling is that for them to speak out something must have happened," but "no one really knows what happened since everyone was under the influence of alcohol," she said.

Some students said they think that the grand jury's decision to drop charges proves that there is little evidence for the Brown women's claims. "I think that if they got off, [the alleged assaults] must have been a total sham," said one student who wished to remain unidentified.