Woman at centre of Cornell rape allegations has been threatened, lawyer says

The woman at the centre of the Cornell rape allegations has received multiple threats to withdraw her claims, her lawyer has said.

Identified as Jane Doe, she filed a civil lawsuit in September against the university and seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity over the alleged incident in October 2024.

The woman's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said to CNN that he had also been threatened.

"She's received multiple threats," the attorney told CNN's State of the Union. "I'm not afraid of these people.

"But ⁠the threats, the abuse to protect what's ⁠going on, the status quo - these guys are disgusting."

In her lawsuit, Jane Doe alleges she was "plied with alcohol and drugs to the point of intoxication" by fraternity members, leaving her unable to consent before she was sexually assaulted.

It comes after Cornell University president Michael Kotlikoff's statement on Sunday, where he called the allegation "deeply disturbing" and said it raised "troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanisation and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use".

He reaffirmed his commitment to supporting an independent review of Cornell's handling of the case called for by New York's Governor Kathy Hochul and said the school's Board of Trustees would announce details next week.

Mr Kotlikoff also said the Ivy League school would take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future - including "a serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life".

New York state prosecutors reopened an investigation into the woman's allegations at the end of last month.

Announcing that his office would present the case to a grand jury, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten defended his office's decision not to seek criminal charges at the time of the alleged offence.

He said that the accuser did not make any claims of being gang-raped or drugged in her initial sworn statement to authorities, and that he was never contacted by the woman's lawyer about her statement or about reconsidering the decision not to prosecute.

Mr Giuffra previously told Sky's US partner network NBC News that in the days following the assault, his client was "traumatised, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened".

He added that she went to Cornell University Police Department "once she was emotionally ready", because she believed she was the victim of a crime, but "she was never spoken with by anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint".

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The woman's lawsuit accuses the university of not preventing the alleged assaults and failing to properly address sexual violence on campus.

Members of the fraternity allegedly used a Snapchat group chat to encourage others to join in, according to the lawsuit, which included a photo of some messages as well as details about the alleged assault itself.

According to the lawsuit, the accused were given "the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell".

The case has drawn national and international attention, with figures including actress Florence Pugh and Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking out about it.

(c) Sky News 2026: Woman at centre of Cornell rape allegations has been threatened, lawyer says