Students walk on the campus of Cornell University on Wednesday in Ithaca, N.Y.
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The woman who alleges she was gang raped by fellow Cornell University students in 2024 clearly stated in her statement to police two years ago that she was sexually assaulted.
That’s according to her attorney, Thomas Giuffra, who confirmed to NPR that his client told investigators, “I can say with 100% percent confidence I was raped,” citing transcripts from Jane Doe’s sworn statement in 2024.
NPR asked Giuffra to specifically confirm on the record to NPR that his client made this exact quoted statement regarding her assault. His response by text: “Yes she did.”
This is in contrast to statements from the local prosecutor, who claimed on Monday that Doe never stated she was raped. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten told NPR local station WSKG on Wednesday that he had not read the full account of her detailed statements to investigators where she repeatedly described being assaulted.
NPR asked Cornell if campus police provided the DA with all of the information from their investigation, including her repeated statements about being assaulted. The university did not respond to the request for comment.
CBS News New York reported Wednesday on a transcript of an interview between the Cornell University Police Department investigator and the alleged victim. NPR has not been able to obtain a copy of these transcripts.
Van Houten said in Monday’s statement that in the 2024 statement taken by Cornell University police, Doe “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped. On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.”
No criminal charges were ever filed against the seven men Doe alleges drugged and assaulted her for several hours in October 2024.
Van Houten told NPR member station WSKG on Wednesday evening that he was in the process of getting the interview transcript from Cornell. He told the station over email that he doesn’t know when he will get the transcript from the university “or if Cornell will resist turning it over.”
“If it’s factual, we absolutely should have been informed about what Jane Doe said to police that was not in her six-page statement,” he told WSKG.
Van Houten said earlier this week that his office is reexamining the case.
He added that particular transcript is part of the confidential Title IX investigation Cornell launched into the alleged assault.
In mid-September, Doe filed a lawsuit against the seven men who she alleges assaulted her two years ago. Cornell was also named in the lawsuit.
Following the onslaught of public backlash against Cornell and the local prosecutor, the school said Wednesday night that it will bring in an outside counsel to conduct an independent probe into the handling of the case.
WSKG’s Aurora Berry contributed reporting.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
