Story summary
In October 2024, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, faced intense scrutiny after a civil lawsuit was filed by a woman identified as Jane Doe, alleging that she was gang-raped at an on-campus fraternity party while intoxicated and drugged. Around 100 students, family members, and faculty attended a public forum organized by Cornell’s Student Assembly to discuss the university's handling of sexual assault complaints and the allegations against seven male students from Chi Phi fraternity, who remain unnamed in the lawsuit but are referred to as the "Cornell 7." Several attendees shared personal experiences of sexual violence, expressing deep dissatisfaction with the school’s Title IX process. The university maintains it conducted an extensive investigation, imposed sanctions on those involved, and banned the implicated fraternity from campus, though critics argue these measures were inadequate. Meanwhile, a US Marine with the same surname as one of the accused received death threats after his personal information was mistakenly published online by Jane Doe's lawyers, highlighting the broader social implications of high-profile sexual assault cases.
Written for “Cornell Sexual Assault Controversy” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 112 other(s) covering the same event.
Jane Doe's attorney argues she was "incapable of consent" because she was "completely, grossly intoxicated" when she arrived
the night she was allegedly raped in October 2024."She didn't have consent from the time she walked in the door; she was incapable of consent," her lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, told CBS News.
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lawyer → argue → News
Giuffra claims Jane Doe was pressured to take ketamine, which he says left her feeling as though she were "floating above herself" and like a ragdoll — unable to stop what was happening.
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what → claim → ragdoll
"And she felt like, you know, like a sex worker just being shuffled from place to place in a bit, unable to stop it," he said, referring to transcripts of Jane Doe's testimony in Cornell's Title IX investigation.
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he → feel → investigation
"Convinced there was a cover-up"
Giuffra says
into her alleged rape failed at nearly every turn, and he now believes university officials were more focused on protecting Cornell's reputation than seeking accountability.
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officials → be → accountability
Jane Doe has filed a against the university as well as the seven former fraternity brothers.
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Doe → file → university
CBS News New York has reached out to all of the accused and, as of Friday afternoon, heard back from attorneys for two, who denied the allegations.
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who → reach → allegations
A third man's attorney has also publicly denied wrongdoing, according to The New York Times.
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attorney → deny → Times
Cornell University said in a statement that it conducted a "thorough Title IX investigation" over several months and it supports the Tompkins County district attorney's decision to reopen the case.
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it → say → case
"I'm more and more convinced there was a cover-up.
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I → be → ?
I mean, at first I thought it was just bumbling, but now I think there was a cover-up.
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I → mean → ?
I think they were worried about protecting the reputation of the university.
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they → think → university
They were protecting the big source of revenue in the county," he said.
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he → protect → county
The woman, who was a 20-year-old sophomore at the time, filed a report with Cornell University Police three weeks after the alleged rapes.
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who → file → rapes
Giuffra believes investigators failed to take basic steps, including interviewing witnesses identified in the fraternity's group chat, questioning the men involved and securing their phones and other evidence while it was still fresh.
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it → believe → phones
"Any case, civil, criminal, you get the evidence as close to the event as possible, and they just blew it.
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they → get → it
I was shocked, really," he said, claiming that Cornell University Police "were in over their heads" handling a serious crime.
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Police → say → crime
Gov. Kathy Hochul also said she was "deeply disturbed" by how Cornell Police and the Tompkins County district attorney handled the case, calling the department's decision to send the D.A. the victim's six-page sworn statement but not the full transcript "a failure" and criticizing the D.A. for not conducting any interviews.
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Police → say → interviews
On Friday, Hochul named
as special prosecutor in the case.
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Hochul → name → case
Giuffra said the lawsuit was filed after Jane Doe went through Cornell's Title IX process and reached a point where she felt ready to move forward.
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she → say → point
"We needed to make sure she was in the right space.
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she → need → space
There was a time period where she didn't feel like she would be able to handle any backlash that came out of it, and she reached a place where she felt that she was ready.
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she → be → place
And that's when we filed the lawsuit," Giuffra said, adding that it took time to put together the 101-page complaint.
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it → file → complaint
A screengrab included in the lawsuit appears to show one of the defendants sent a message in a
with dozens of fraternity members saying there was a woman upstairs for "free" sex.
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one → include → sex
"Look, that group chat went out to over 50 men.
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chat → go → men
Not one of those 50 men did anything to stop it," Giuffra believes.
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Giuffra → do → it
Giuffra said the only person who did the right thing was the man who leaked the group chat, because without it, "we wouldn't have the smoking gun."
CBS News New York investigative reporter Mahsa Saeidi obtained screenshots of
between Jane Doe and one of the defendants sent just days after the alleged assault, in which Doe wrote that "none of the sexual stuff was illegal."
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none → say → stuff
Giuffra confirmed she exchanged texts with this defendant shortly after the alleged assault, but he could not confirm specific exchanges.
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he → confirm → exchanges
The message has drawn scrutiny, with social media users questioning how it aligns with the allegations in the lawsuit.
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it → draw → lawsuit
Giuffra said she was initially going through denial.
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she → say → denial
As rumors around campus began to spread,
she "came to the realization that [she] had been gang raped," according to newly obtained records from the Title IX investigation.
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she → begin → investigation
Four out of the seven named in the lawsuit are specifically accused of rape.
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Four → name → rape
They're all sexual abusers, though," Giuffra said, adding that the others also acted inappropriately and need to be held accountable.
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others → say → ?
The Aporia
