US prosecutors reopen case of alleged gang rape at Cornell University

The BBC has contacted Jane Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra. In a statement on Monday obtained by CBS, the BBC's US partner, he said: "In the days following the assault, [Jane Doe] was traumatised, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened. She was in self-preservation mode."Giuffra said Jane Doe never spoke to anyone other than the officer who took her initial complaint, adding: "I would have expected at the very least that she would have been interviewed several times and evidence collected by law enforcement and a case developed. This is the normal sequence for serious crime investigations.""The defensive posture I have gleaned from the DA's statements leads me to believe that they recognise that there were failures and they are trying to excuse them," he said.Jane Doe also alleged in her civil lawsuit that Cornell did not protect her nor adequately punish the men involved, alleging they were "afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays". Jane Doe suffered "severe emotional and psychological distress and personal physical injury" due to the incident and the university's handling, the suit states, adding that news of the incident quickly circulated through the school. In November 2024, Cornell University issued a public statement regarding the "serious and deeply disturbing allegations of drug abuse and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house", saying its campus police department was investigating and that it had suspended the local chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity, as well as "a number of students."Cornell also said it had opened an internal investigation as well as a civil rights inquiry under the Title IX law - which bars sex discrimination in schools that receive funding from the federal government, including most universities.On Monday, the university disputed Jane Doe's allegation that it did not adequately investigate or punish the alleged perpetrators.