Students walk on the Cornell University campus Wednesday in Ithaca, New York
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The woman who claims she was gang raped by classmates at Cornell University in 2024 clearly stated in her statement to police two years ago that she had been sexually assaulted.
That’s according to her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, who confirmed to NPR that his client told investigators, “I can say with 100 percent confidence that I was raped,” citing transcripts of Jane Doe’s 2024 affidavit.
NPR asked Giuffra to specifically confirm in the filing to NPR that his client made this exact statement regarding his assault. Her text response: “Yes, she did.”
That contrasts with statements from the local prosecutor, who said Monday that Doe never said she was raped. Tompkins County Prosecutor Matthew Van Houten told local NPR station WSKG on Wednesday that he had not read the full account of her detailed statements to investigators in which she repeatedly described being assaulted.
NPR asked Cornell whether campus police provided the prosecutor with all of the information in her investigation, including her repeated statements that she was assaulted. The university did not respond to request for comment.
CBS News New York reported Wednesday on a transcript of an interview between the Cornell University Police Department investigator and the alleged victim. NPR was unable to obtain a copy of these transcripts.
Van Houten said in Monday’s statement that in the 2024 statement taken by Cornell University police, Doe “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped. Rather, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in the drug use and sexual behavior as voluntary, knowing and consensual.”
No criminal charges have ever been filed against the seven men who Doe says drugged and assaulted her for several hours in October 2024.
Van Houten told NPR member station WSKG Wednesday evening that he was in the process of obtaining the transcript of the Cornell interview. He told the station via email that he didn’t know when he would receive the college transcript “or if Cornell would resist turning it in.”
“If this is factual, we absolutely should have known about what Jane Doe told the police that was not in her six-page statement,” he told WSKG.
Van Houten said earlier this week that his office was reviewing the case.
He added that this particular transcript is part of the confidential Title IX investigation launched by Cornell into the alleged assault.
In mid-September, Doe filed a lawsuit against the seven men she said attacked her two years ago. Cornell was also named in the lawsuit.
Following public backlash against Cornell and the local prosecutor, the school announced Wednesday evening that it would retain an outside attorney to conduct an independent investigation into the handling of the matter.
The gaps are increasing
Since Tuesday, Cornell has directed the public to an FAQ page about the rape allegations.
The university argued that Cornell University police thoroughly investigated the matter and that the school conducted its own Title IX investigation, which resulted in suspensions and expulsions. Cornell did not say how many students were punished or of what nature. He noted in the FAQ: “Federal privacy law prohibits Cornell from disclosing specific information regarding individual students, and the university is therefore unable to make a public statement regarding any further disciplinary response.”
WSKG noted that on Wednesday the university changed its FAQ. And he quietly deleted a sentence stating that Cornell police “shared all investigative information with the Tompkins County Prosecutor’s Office.”
Previously, the FAQ said: “The Cornell University Police Department investigated the case in 2024 and shared all investigative information with the Tompkins County Prosecutor’s Office, which is established protocol if the department believes it is possible that a crime may have occurred.”
But on Wednesday afternoon, WSKG discovered that statement had been changed and any mention of Cornell police sharing “all investigative information” with the prosecutor had disappeared from the page.
“The Cornell University Police Department is a unit of the university and its officers are sworn Tompkins County sheriff’s deputies whose duties include maintaining law and order on Cornell property,” the new release states. “This incident occurred within Cornell’s jurisdiction.”
WSKG reported that Cornell University did not respond to its questions about these changes.
Students at the university expressed outrage and deep disappointment with school officials for the way they handled the matter. The Cornell University Student Assembly scheduled a public hearing for Thursday afternoon in which they said they would “demand institutional accountability” from their school.
“We unequivocally stand with survivors of sexual violence and remain committed to ensuring that their voices are not only heard, but acted upon,” the organization said in a statement on Instagram.
Investigations into Cornell’s handling of case begin
On Wednesday evening, the school confirmed to NPR that it would retain an outside attorney to conduct an independent review of the alleged gang rape.
University officials told NPR they had no further details on how the investigation was going. Previously, Cornell had strongly defended the way it handled the matter when Doe first reported the incident to school officials two years ago.
The move comes after New York Governor Kathy Hochul called on the school to open an outside investigation. In a video posted to X, Hochul also said she was considering new legislation to strengthen sexual assault laws across the state.
“Although we have some of the strictest sexual assault laws on college campuses right here in New York, I think we can do better,” she said. “This culture must stop. And it will stop here in New York State.”
Aurora Berry from WSKG reports contributed.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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