Jane Doe Was ‘Incapable of Consent,’ Attorney Says, Alleges Cornell Cover-Up in Fraternity Rape Case

The attorney for a woman identified in court papers as Jane Doe says she was “incapable of consent” when she arrived at a Cornell University fraternity house on the night she was allegedly raped in October 2024, describing her as “completely, grossly intoxicated.”

“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. Giuffra also claims Doe was pressured to take ketamine, which he says left her feeling as if she were “floating above herself” and like a ragdoll — unable to stop what was happening.

In testimony transcripts from Cornell’s Title IX investigation, Giuffra said, Doe described feeling “like a sex worker just being shuffled from place to place in a bit, unable to stop it.”

Lawsuit targets Cornell and seven former fraternity brothers

Doe has filed a lawsuit against Cornell and seven former fraternity brothers. Four of the seven are specifically accused of rape. Giuffra said the others also acted inappropriately. “They’re not all gang rapists. They’re all sexual abusers, though,” he said.

The 101-page complaint includes a screengrab that appears to show one defendant sent a message in a Snapchat group with dozens of fraternity members saying there was a woman upstairs for “free” sex. Giuffra said the group chat went out to more than 50 men. “Not one of those 50 men did anything to stop it,” he said. He added that 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 text messages between Doe and one defendant sent days after the alleged assault. In them, Doe wrote that “none of the sexual stuff was illegal.” Giuffra confirmed she exchanged texts with the defendant shortly after the alleged assault but could not confirm specific exchanges. The message has drawn scrutiny, with social media users questioning how it aligns with the lawsuit’s allegations.

Giuffra said Doe was initially in denial. According to newly obtained records from the Title IX investigation, as rumors spread around campus, Doe said she “came to the realization that [she] had been gang raped.”

Investigation under fire — and a special prosecutor named

The woman, a 20-year-old sophomore at the time, filed a report with Cornell University Police three weeks after the alleged 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.

“Any case, civil, criminal, you get the evidence as close to the event as possible, and they just blew it. I was shocked, really,” he said, claiming Cornell University Police “were in over their heads” handling a serious crime.

Cornell University said in a statement that it conducted a “thorough Title IX investigation” over several months and supports the Tompkins County district attorney’s decision to reopen the case. CBS News New York reached out to all of the accused. As of Friday afternoon, it had heard back from attorneys for two, who denied the allegations. A third man’s attorney has also publicly denied wrongdoing, according to The New York Times.

Giuffra said he is “more and more convinced there was a cover-up.” At first, he said, he thought the handling of the case was “just bumbling,” but he now believes officials were worried about protecting Cornell’s reputation and “the big source of revenue in the county.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was “deeply disturbed” by how Cornell Police and the Tompkins County district attorney handled the case. She called the department’s decision to send the D.A. the victim’s six-page sworn statement but not the full transcript “a failure,” and criticized the D.A. for not conducting any interviews. On Friday, Hochul named New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case.

Giuffra said the lawsuit was filed after Doe went through Cornell’s Title IX process and reached a point where she felt ready to move forward. “We needed to make sure she was in the right 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. And that’s when we filed the lawsuit,” he said.

The case has renewed attention on how universities and local prosecutors handle campus sexual assault allegations, particularly when fraternities are involved. The appointment of the state attorney general as special prosecutor adds a layer of independent scrutiny — and could shape how the reopened investigation proceeds.