{"id":225930,"date":"2026-09-29T06:42:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T06:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/cornell-rape-accusers-attorney-says-the-school-and-law-enforcement-failed-a-young-woman-nbcnews-com\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T06:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T06:42:19","slug":"cornell-rape-accusers-attorney-says-the-school-and-law-enforcement-failed-a-young-woman-nbcnews-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/cornell-rape-accusers-attorney-says-the-school-and-law-enforcement-failed-a-young-woman-nbcnews-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Cornell rape accuser\u2019s attorney says the school and law enforcement failed a young woman – nbcnews.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The attorney representing a former Cornell University student who said she was gang-raped<\/a> 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.
\u201cShe was a young woman who went to Cornell with high hopes, thought that this was her dream come true, and then that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d Thomas P. Giuffra told NBC News on Monday. \u201cNow she\u2019s not in college. She\u2019s not pursuing her goals, and she\u2019s just trying to hang on.\u201d
In a written statement Monday, the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, said she hopes \u201cto 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.\u201d
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 \u201cmitigate their conduct\u201d by writing essays to the university.
\u201cAny suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,\u201d Kyle Kimball, Cornell\u2019s vice president for university relations, said in a statement.
Giuffra told NBC News that in the days following the alleged assault, his client was \u201ctraumatized, numb and unable to function or accept the horror of what had happened.\u201d She was in \u201cself-preservation mode,\u201d he said, and had faith that university officials would investigate her claims thoroughly.
\u201cShe wanted to give Cornell the opportunity to make this right, because this was her expectation. So she didn\u2019t want to start a lawsuit,\u201d he said.
She filed the civil lawsuit, which names the Chi Phi chapter, Chi Phi National and Cornell University among others, this month.
Why a 2024 Cornell sexual assault case was reopened
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\u2019s decision to have the case heard before a criminal grand jury.
\u201cNow that this lawsuit has been filed, that raises the question that Jane Doe believes there\u2019s additional evidence,\u201d Van Houten told NBC News on Monday. \u201cWe want to talk to her. We want to flesh out with her what that additional evidence is.\u201d
He promised to pursue any new evidence \u201czealously.\u201d
\u201cWe 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\u2019s been two years and we haven\u2019t heard from her since then or her attorneys, that it\u2019s never too late to reopen and pursue justice when there is additional evidence,\u201d Van Houten said.
He said he looks forward to working with the woman before the case is sent to a grand jury. \u201cWe want to prepare with her, so she\u2019s comfortable and feels confident that we are going to cover all the bases with her and support her,\u201d 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.
\u201cThat available evidence was there. They could have utilized it,\u201d he told NBC News. \u201cWhat they should have done is investigated who was on that group chat and interviewed witnesses and developed evidence. That\u2019s what investigators do, and that was not done at all.\u201d
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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.
\u201cThe lawsuit against Scott Kretzachmar is not only intentionally dishonest but morally repugnant,\u201d attorney Jeremy Saland said in a statement. \u201cWhile Scott responded to and made an immature comment on Snapchat, he did nothing else. Nothing.\u201d
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.
Abigail Brooks is a producer for NBC News.
Adam Reiss is a reporter and producer for NBC and MSNBC.
Alicia Victoria Lozano is a California-based reporter for NBC News focusing on climate change, wildfires and the changing politics of drug laws.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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