Cornell rape accuser's attorney says the school and law enforcement failed a young woman
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sept. 28, 2026, 8:46 PM EDTBy Abigail Brooks, Adam Reiss and Alicia Victoria Lozano
The attorney representing a former Cornell University student who said she was gang-raped for hours in 2024 after she was pressured to take ketamine decried the initial investigation and accused both law enforcement officials and the school of failing his client.
"She was a young woman who went to Cornell with high hopes, thought that this was her dream come true, and then that didn't happen," Thomas P. Giuffra told NBC News on Monday. "Now she's not in college. She's not pursuing her goals, and she's just trying to hang on."
In a written statement Monday, the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, said she hopes "to recover from this trauma but it is extremely difficult. It affects every aspect of my life. It will haunt me and be part of me the rest of my life."
In a civil lawsuit filed this month, Doe alleges that Chi Phi fraternity brothers sexually assaulted her and that one sent a message encouraging other members to participate in the attack.
The fraternity chapter was subsequently barred from campus, but no one was criminally charged. According to the lawsuit, some of the students were able to "mitigate their conduct" by writing essays to the university.
"Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false," Kyle Kimball, Cornell's vice president for university relations, said in a statement.
Giuffra told NBC News that in the days following the alleged assault, his client was "traumatized, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened." She was in "self-preservation mode," he said, and had faith that university officials would investigate her claims thoroughly.
"She wanted to give Cornell the opportunity to make this right, because this was her expectation. So she didn't want to start a lawsuit," he said.
She filed the civil lawsuit, which names the Chi Phi chapter, Chi Phi National and Cornell University among others, this month.
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Why a 2024 Cornell sexual assault case was reopened
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Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said that prompted him to reopen the case and consider whether to bring charges related to the 2024 allegations. The university said Monday that it supports Van Houten's decision to have the case heard before a criminal grand jury.
"Now that this lawsuit has been filed, that raises the question that Jane Doe believes there's additional evidence," Van Houten told NBC News on Monday. "We want to talk to her. We want to flesh out with her what that additional evidence is."
He promised to pursue any new evidence "zealously."
"We understand that with human beings, especially processing trauma, it takes time sometimes to fully grasp and understand and process something that happened to you, and so we recognize that even though it's been two years and we haven't heard from her since then or her attorneys, that it's never too late to reopen and pursue justice when there is additional evidence," Van Houten said.
He said he looks forward to working with the woman before the case is sent to a grand jury. "We want to prepare with her, so she's comfortable and feels confident that we are going to cover all the bases with her and support her," Van Houten said.
According to Giuffra, his client went to the Cornell University Police Department after the alleged attack but did not speak with anyone beyond the first person who took her report. University officers failed to follow up on key pieces of evidence, including the group chat, Giuffra said.
"That available evidence was there. They could have utilized it," he told NBC News. "What they should have done is investigated who was on that group chat and interviewed witnesses and developed evidence. That's what investigators do, and that was not done at all."
Ithaca police did not immediately respond to a request for information about their involvement in the case. The Ithaca Police Department is actively investigating the allegations, according to the civil lawsuit. Cornell police referred NBC News to the university's previous statements defending how it handled the allegations.
Cornell pushed back on the suggestion that those involved in the incident faced few consequences at the time, saying in a statement Monday that the university's Title IX proceedings resulted in a range of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions.
The lawsuit names seven Chi Phi fraternity members. Scott Kretzschmar is among them. An attorney for Kretzschmar strongly denied the accusations and said his client welcomed the new investigation.
"The lawsuit against Scott Kretzachmar is not only intentionally dishonest but morally repugnant," attorney Jeremy Saland said in a statement. "While Scott responded to and made an immature comment on Snapchat, he did nothing else. Nothing."
NBC News tried to contact the six others named in the lawsuit but was not immediately able to reach them or did not receive responses.
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Writing essays. Jesus.
Relevant omitted information :
The complaint alleges the friend and another fraternity member gave her more alcohol and pressured her into snorting a substance they described as ketamine, and that she was then sexually assaulted while “incapable of consent.”
The trouble with this is that with drugs and alcohol in her system, she would have been unable to give proper consent. The fact that she may not have said "no" during the assault, does not mean that she said "yes".
That is a moral question. Under New York law, if you voluntarily ingest substances, you aren't mentally incapacitated and unable to give consent.
This is where it often comes down to how good your lawyer is - (bold mine)
Bullshit! It is a medical question. Can someone under the influence of alcohol, ketamine, and possibly other drugs make an informed decision?
No
Lol.
The state of new york and every other state i'm aware of thinks so. I guess you believe everyone who everyone who has sex after taking a drug or a drink has been raped. You must think she's guilty of rape too,
Maybe you should make yourself more aware before answering...
Lol. Talk about a dishonest post. You originally claimed " under the influence" of alcohol. To quote you "Can someone under the influence of alcohol"
Which as I said is complete bullshit and said that every state agrees with me.
And than you quote AI to prove that I'm correct while bizarrely pretending otherwise.
You cannot make a claim while asking a question. Are you that ignorant of the English language?
I provided AI evidence that you are wrong. Now it is up to you to provide CITATIONS backing up your claim that every state agrees with you.
Buh bye....
Evidently there are next day text messages by the guys that serve as a sort of confession.
They are going to claim it was consensual but I think it is a minute if not microscopic percentage of young women who would consent to taking part in a "gang rape" situation.
Where was the human decency on the part of the boys ?
According to her, she did. Per her statement, she was dictating who was involved the entire time.
There's definitely a tension here between promoting sexual permissiveness and then criminalizing regret. You can't have both.
.
If she was not on drugs would she have consented to having sex with a half dozens guys in one setting? I think that is pretty unlikely. Where was one decent guy to step up ?
Don't you just love it when somebody defends rapists?
Maybe. Maybe not. she chose to take the drugs. some people take substances to lower their inhibitions. She chose to have sex with the guys. She admitted all this.
here was one decent guy to step up ?
That's another issue entirely.
So having sex with a woman who consents is rape? The girl's probably coming forward because she's been slut shamed by her friends who can't believe a woman would consent to group sex and have now bullied her into now claiming "rape" as a self protection mechanism. Nothing beats victimhood.[✘]
... it's the primary republican political platform now.
GOP = guardians of pedophiles
MAGA = molesters are getting anonymity
And they still believe they are the party of family values.
It's interesting that you believe the one statement while also calling her a liar.
[✘] I believe statements made closer in time to an event tend to be truer. Maybe she was lying in her statement and in her texts (including texting one of the participants days later how much she enjoyed it) Maybe she's telling the truth years later. It's possible. Given her complete 180 , how can anyone possibly prove it was rape beyond a reasonable doubt without evidence they don't have access to right now?
That's what the investigation is for. They must have found something credible enough to re-open the investigation. I suggest letting that play out first.
MAGA believe using their breeding stock as they see fit is "family values".
Not at all. Politics is enough to re-open the investigation. There's zero evidence of anything new other than her changed story. The DA certainly didn't suggest there was.
suggest letting that play out first
Since I'm not denouncing people as rapists, it might behoove you to suggest that to the pitchfork brigade who is trying to destroy lives based only their hopes and wishes when, as you must admit, the public evidence we actually have makes convictions for rape pretty much impossible.
... trump family values.
maga!
It might be. You're assuming too much without any evidence.
You're denouncing a young woman as a liar, and a slut, while holding the boys to no responsibility. I myself suggest nothing but to wait to see if new facts come to light. How about we stop pointing fingers at either side until that happens?
well fuck 'em fuck the ones who keep supporting rapists and pedophiles
and that's the kind of shit that is going to make me say something and get bounced out of here
What do you think you are doing when you claim there must be secret evidence?
You're denouncing a young woman as a liar,
Everyone who accuses the men of rape is calling her a liar.
and a slut,
Now you are making things up. I said she, like all adult women, are capable of agreeing to group sex. Are you saying they aren't?
My guess is the actual slut shaming came from the people who are now holding her up as a victim. She was probably made to feel guilty and changed her story to escape the bullying from her friends and family who couldn't accept she did it voluntarily. Look at the reactions from some here.
holding the boys to no responsibility.\
Because I believe what she said and under the law they have every right to engage in group sex.
Don't you ever get tired of building strawmen? I said I was waiting for facts - either she lied, or she didn't. One of those will be a fact, one will not.
Take that up with them.
You are correct. My apologies.
You like to guess a lot...
It's true adults have the right to consensual sex. Still taking drugs and pulling a train is risky behavior... Again, you've taken what you believe is true. The people pointing at the boys believe what is true. Somewhere in there will be the facts I'm waiting for.
Lol.. You said, and I quote, "They must have found something credible enough to re-open the investigation." You have zero evidence of this secret, "credible" evidence.
Take that up with them.
I did. Why are you afraid to?
You like to guess a lot...
And I admit when I am. Contrast that to pretty much every other post here.
Again, you've taken what you believe is true
No, I know it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that someone is a rapist. And I know that's pretty much impossible when the supposed victim gave a sworn statement that says otherwise.
just say it to me, no bfd, I can take a joke ...
I've watched just enough Law and Order to not have acquired a juris doctorate...but...I've seen many episodes where a woman who may have consented at first but then became very intoxicated is said to have been raped because she was not in any condition to consent....or something like that
So anytime a woman has a drink she consents to sex/gang bang? Is that the new way of looking at things? Does that work for men as well? If he has a drink he consents to having sex with his football teammates?
No, when she consents to a gang bang and sets out the rules about who can participate, she does. Especially when she admits that what she did.
If he has a drink he consents to having sex with his football teammates?
If he tells his teammates he wants to have sex with them and then directs them as to how many and who he will have sex with, then yes. Because he's bullied or ashamed about it afterwards doesn't change what he said at the time.
That's the way it seems to one particular person here
Since I can't see his comments his opinion means jack shit to me.
you missed nothing of any consequence ...
I didn't think so.
as usual
Yes. The number of drinks she has is directly proportional to the number of men.
No. It's been like this since Jesus walked with the dinosaurs.
Oh, you sweet summer child...
That would be gay and being gay is communist.
Geeze V... If you don't know how this works, find the nearest alphamale and ask him to explain it to you. /s
I get the sarcasm.
Since people are having trouble understanding anything other than their own biases, here's what the DA wrote:
Not that this will stop the witchunt we can already see beginning.....