Lawyers for the woman at the center of a Cornell University rape investigation say she is now being threatened and forced to drop her lawsuit as New York’s attorney general is assigned to oversee a reinvestigation into her sexual assault claims.
Jane Doe’s attorney said the local district attorney failed to subpoena key evidence as early as 2024. He also said that many people tried to reveal the identity of his client, but they went to the wrong people, resulting in death threats being received by people who had nothing to do with the case.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed New York State Attorney General Letitia James to oversee the investigation. Critics, including President Trump, say James cannot be impartial.
“Well, I think Tish James, at least what her office told me, is that they are reaching out to outside parties to get involved because the attorney general’s office does not typically investigate these types of crimes,” Thomas Giuffra told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “So it seems to me that people are being brought in who have experience in committing crimes and investigating crimes. So, I think there will be impartiality. I think there will be fairness.”
The president of Cornell University also spoke publicly for the first time this weekend about the 2024 allegations.
“What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing,” Michael I. Kotlikoff said in a video posted on the school’s website. “It raises heartbreaking and disturbing questions about sexual assault, dehumanization and party culture, alcohol and drug abuse.”
Jane Doe voluntarily gave a sworn statement to Cornell University police 26 days after the alleged assault. In it, she details a night in which she initially agreed to a threesome, but says that as the night went on, she felt increasingly powerless and her memory developed gaps.
Her complaint names seven brothers from the Chi Phi fraternity who she claims sexually assaulted her. Giuffra now says more than seven fraternity members may have been involved.
“Frankly, I’m not even sure if everyone was involved in this attack because my client was hacked over a period of time and that’s reported in these statements,” he told CNN. “The people we have are people we know for sure. If you ask me, I’m sure there are more.”
As the case continues to draw attention, a wave of posts in support of the accusers has surged on social media.
Countless women — and some men — wrote in support of the young accuser, identifying themselves as Jane Doe. She used the name to file a lawsuit against Cornell University and seven fraternity members, accusing them of raping her.
For many, acknowledging the name comes with sharing their own personal experiences with sexual abuse and assault. Some said the posts were also intended to provide protection for the accuser in the digital age, in response to people trying to identify her real name online. They hope the sheer volume of “I am Jane Doe” posts will confuse online algorithms.
“Moments like these…encourage more women to speak out and tell their stories,” Emma Davidson Tribbs, founding director of the National Women’s Defense League, told The Associated Press. “They give people a level of courage and comfort to come forward and tell their truth. They can be incredibly catalytic for change.”
Singer Wendy Lea Brewer told The Associated Press that after hearing about the Cornell case, she posted the captions “I am Jane Doe” and “It’s time to speak” on Instagram.
“We’re all feeling the same thing here, we’ve had enough,” Brewer said.
Midwestern photographer Kelsey Combe told The Associated Press that she posted “I am Jane Doe” to confuse artificial intelligence models and support Jane Doe.
She also told The Associated Press that artificial intelligence later linked her to the real Jane Doe, saying it was Koum who sued Cornell University.
“It was an interesting situation because the moment I raised the alarm about it…a lot of people were like, ‘Well, you brought this on yourself. You were involved in this. What do you think is going to happen?’ I was like, ‘Well, look at this.'” Koum eventually deleted it, but still got a taste of public criticism.
Diana Simon, a law professor at the University of Arizona, said the use of pseudonyms such as “Jane Doe” in lawsuits has increased in recent decades. She told The Associated Press that in some cases it may be in a person’s best interest to remain anonymous.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally reported and broadcast by NBC New York. Artificial intelligence tools helped convert the story into a digital article, which NBC New York reporters edited for publication.