The renewed criminal probe comes after mounting criticism of Cornell's response to the student's allegations. The governor's call for an outside review adds pressure on the university, which sits in Ithaca, New York, to explain its handling of the case.
Details on what prosecutors found to justify reopening the case have not been released. Neither has the governor's office said what an independent investigation into Cornell would specifically examine.
For the former student at the center of the case, the reopened investigation offers a fresh chance at accountability more than a year after the alleged assault. Cornell now faces scrutiny not just from prosecutors but from the state's top elected official, a combination that raises the stakes well beyond a single criminal case.