A former Cornell student filed a lawsuit earlier this month saying seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her at their house in Ithaca, New York, in October 2024. No one faced charges back then. The suit went viral. Over the weekend, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten told ABC News he is reopening the criminal case, and his office followed up with a statement Monday. He says he intends to take it to a grand jury with her cooperation. Also on Monday, Cornell said it supports that move but called the "minimal consequences" story about its discipline "false." The student's lawyer, the prosecutor, the university and two of the accused men now each tell a different story.

1. The System Failed Her at Every Step

Her lawyer says no trained investigator questioned her, police ignored the group chat, and some of the men got off with essays.

Her lawyer says no trained interviewer ever talked to her. The student sued as Jane Doe. Her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, said "an average University Police officer" lacks the skills to interview an abuse survivor. "Ms. Doe was never contacted by anybody with those skills," he said. She reported to Cornell's police on Nov. 8, 2024. Van Houten acknowledges his office didn't investigate on its own and relied on the campus police, which he says is common in upstate New York counties.

Her lawyer says her story hasn't changed. Giuffra told CNN the police report was "not materially different" from the lawsuit. "It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint," he said.

Her side says the police had the group chat. The lawsuit includes a Snapchat group invitation that allegedly asked other members to come upstairs. "This was a critical piece of evidence supporting that a crime had occurred," Giuffra said, and yet "there was no follow-up with Ms. Doe."

Her side says the punishments were far too light. The complaint says some of the men "were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays." Giuffra says Cornell expelled two men and gave the other five lighter penalties, including suspensions, workshops or essays.

Public figures have joined the outcry. The actress Florence Pugh wrote on Instagram on Sunday, "How can you expect us to trust that it's 'not all men' when in moments like this, many of you stay quiet?" Toby Morton, a former "South Park" writer, built a website about the seven men and warned them, "I'm now slowly finding out where you work."

2. The 2024 Decision Followed Her Own Statement

The prosecutor says her first account didn't describe a crime he could charge, and the lawsuit tells a different story.

The prosecutor says her 2024 account described no chargeable crime. Van Houten says the lawsuit is "dramatically different" from what she told police in 2024. "She never says that she was drugged without her knowledge," he said. "She does not allege that she was forced to engage in any acts."

He says the group-chat screenshot never reached his office. "We want to reexamine whether there's additional evidence that we were not aware of in November of 2024," he told ABC News.

He still calls the men's conduct disgusting. "The behavior of certain Chi Phi fraternity members was without question disgusting and morally reprehensible," he said. He also said "the community" asked him to revisit the decision. He says a grand jury is "the most objective and impartial means available."

3. Cornell Says It Punished the Men, and No One Got Off With Just an Essay

The university says a real hearing led to expulsions and suspensions, and the "minimal consequences" story hurts survivors.

The school says a full hearing led to real penalties. In its Monday statement, Cornell said a panel "of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days" and issued sanctions that "included expulsions and suspensions." It said none of the men "were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence." Cornell says it used temporary suspensions while it investigated, and it still bars the chapter from campus.

The university says that story now hurts survivors. "A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible," Cornell said. It said that story "will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault."

4. Two of the Accused Men Deny the Claims

Lawyers for two of the seven say their clients didn't assault her, and the other five haven't spoken publicly.

One man never touched her, his lawyer says. Jeremy Saland, a defense attorney representing one of the men named in the suit, said his client "never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way." He said he and his client look forward to confronting her "for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words."

Another says he never joined in. A second man said in a statement through his attorney, "I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use." He admits he "thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat" and says he "briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it happened."

Where This Lands

The student's lawyer says no trained investigator ever questioned her and police never followed up on the group chat. Van Houten says he closed the case because of what she told police, and he now wants to see what's new. Cornell says it expelled and suspended men after a real hearing, and it calls the "minimal consequences" story false. Two of the seven men deny assaulting her, and the other five haven't commented publicly. Prosecutors haven't charged anyone. Van Houten has not said when he'll go to the grand jury.

Sources