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Lawyer for Cornell sexual assault accuser criticises university healthcare response
Overview
The lawyer representing a woman who alleges she was drugged and raped by seven men at a Cornell University fraternity house in 2024 has stated that a university doctor failed his client by not following up properly after she reported a traumatic urinary tract infection days after the alleged assault. The case has gained renewed attention as Tompkins County District Attorney's Office reopened the investigation following a civil lawsuit filed by the accuser, known as Jane Doe.
Key points
- A woman known as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell University in September, alleging she was drugged and raped by seven men at a fraternity house in 2024.
- Her lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, stated that a university doctor failed to conduct a rape kit or proper physical examination when Doe visited two days after the alleged assault complaining of a traumatic urinary tract infection.
- Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced his office is reopening the case following the civil lawsuit, after initially declining to bring charges in 2024.
- The District Attorney defended his office against criticism from Giuffra, stating he has now obtained a full 120-page transcript from a Title IX interview that supports Doe's sworn statement.
- Documents from the university's Title IX investigation detail the weeks following the alleged assault, including text messages from an accused man apologising and room-mate accounts of Doe's trauma.