Rape at Cornell University: “Give up or I will kill your wife”… Jane Doe’s lawyer threatened

“I thought after #MeToo we were moving in the right direction. Then there was this backlash.” The prestigious Cornell University, located in New York State, in the United States, has been in the eye of the storm since the outbreak of the “Cornell 7 affair” last September, when “Jane Doe” – a pseudonym allowing her anonymity to be preserved – had the courage to file a complaint.

The young woman accuses seven student members of a fraternity of having raped her in turn in 2024, when she was 20 years old. That evening she had consumed alcohol and ketamine.

According to her lawyer Thomas Giuffra, who also represented victims of Harvey Weinstein, the complainant has since been subjected to very strong pressure, between disclosure of her personal data, threats and harassment. “We have taken the wrong direction in the way sexual assault is perceived in this country,” he believes. And added: “The message sent to other survivors is: Keep silent, otherwise this is what will happen to you.”

Thomas Giuffra cites in particular a malicious telephone prank (“swatting”) that occurred in October: the police intervened with guns drawn at the complainant’s home after a man gave her address during a call, claiming to have killed her mother. The lawyer says he himself received death threats: "Someone called my office and said: 'Drop the case or I will kill your wife'".

Fraternities in the viewfinder

Despite the threats, Thomas Giuffra says his client wants her legal action to serve to transform the way Cornell and other American colleges deal with sexual assault. According to a 2020 study by the Association of American Universities, nearly one in four female students is the victim of rape or sexual assault during their studies.

Cornell has since announced several reforms to better support victims and ordered an independent investigation into its handling of the case. After the first accusations, the establishment closed the fraternity and temporarily suspended the students involved. Two of them were subsequently deported.

A motion against Cornell management

Insufficient for many Americans. This Friday, a motion of no confidence was voted by the university's teaching staff against its leaders. They do not have the power to dismiss them but their vote constitutes a disavowal for President Michael Kotlikoff, directly implicated by Jane Doe.

In response, the board of directors gave its “support” to Kotlikoff. Proof that there is still a long way to go on campus.