At least three women have been wrongly identified as the alleged victim in the Cornell University gang-rape case, according to the woman’s attorney.
The allegations have shaken the Ivy League university in New York. The woman, referred to as Jane Doe in court filings, sued in September, claiming she was sexually assaulted by seven Chi Phi fraternity members at an off-campus house in 2024.
Her lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said several women have been mistakenly identified as Jane Doe by individuals seeking to intimidate or silence his client.
“They’re saying to Jane Doe that there are people out there trying to track her down. They’ve tracked down the wrong women, at least three of the wrong women that I’ve heard about,” Giuffra said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
“She’s received multiple threats, and women who aren’t even Jane Doe have received threats about what they’re going to do to her.”
Giuffra said his client had been warned: “We’re going to shut you up. You’re going to be still get hurt by us. You’re going to pull this lawsuit out, or we’re going to do something to hurt you even more.”
The attorney added that he has also faced threats because he is representing the alleged victim.
“I’m not afraid of these people,” he said. “But the threats, the abuse to protect what’s going on, the status quo – these guys are disgusting. They should stay in their mother’s basement and stay out of the world.”
Thomas Giuffra, who represents the woman identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, said at least three women have been wrongly named as his client
The Cornell University case has caused widespread concern at the Ivy League school after Jane Doe sued over alleged sexual assaults at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024
The attorney’s comments came as Donald Trump weighed in on the case, saying he felt “badly” for the seven men while accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of conducting a “corrupt” investigation.
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul appointed James to oversee the matter. On Friday, James announced an “active criminal investigation” into the fraternity members.
Trump, who had previously said he believed the university would “do what’s right” in response to the allegations, criticized Hochul’s decision to appoint James.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Why would the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, appoint a Corrupt Prosecutor, Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James, to represent the State in the highly controversial Cornell University rape case?”
The nickname has previously prompted critics to accuse Trump of racism, an allegation he has denied.
Asked about the case again Friday, Trump said, without commenting on either side involved, that James would prevent the defendants from receiving fair treatment.
“Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person. She’s totally corrupt, and I cannot imagine it, and I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at, because they won’t get a fair shake. Letitia James is a corrupt person.”
According to the lawsuit, one of the men allegedly posted in the fraternity’s active-members Snapchat group that there was “free p***y” upstairs, referring to Doe; the filing included an image of the purported conversation
The allegations returned to the spotlight after Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit on September 16.
The lawsuit claims Doe was 20 when she arrived at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, after becoming heavily intoxicated during a night of drinking in Ithaca.
She alleges she was pressured to take ketamine and given marijuana and high-proof alcohol before being repeatedly sexually assaulted as additional fraternity members entered the room.
The complaint alleges seven men eventually participated and that Doe became ‘completely incapacitated.’ She says the ordeal continued until around 5.45am, when she lost consciousness.
It also claims that during the assault, one fraternity member posted to a ‘Chi Phi Actives’ Snapchat group that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe.
‘Like you can walk in and whip it out,’ another member allegedly responded, according to a screenshot described in the filing.
She filed a police report at the time, but Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to prosecute.
The defendants have not all publicly responded to the allegations, but at least two have denied wrongdoing.
