Jane Doe was allegedly raped by several men at a fraternity house at Cornell University in 2024. The case has reopened two years later, and women online are furious to know how the case was handled.
According to the reports, Jane Doe’s lawyer said that Cornell’s healthcare system had failed Jane by not appropriately responding to her when she disclosed the alleged assault.
In 2024, Jane Doe was drugged and raped at one of Cornell’s Fraternity Houses.
According to the lawsuit that was filed last month, Jane was 20 years old when the incident happened. On October 19, 2024, Jane said she had drunk a lot of vodka until she felt intoxicated at a sorority house.
Around 8:30 p.m., Jane and her friends went to a bar in New York where they were served more alcohol even though they were underage at the time. By 10:00 p.m., they had all gone to a different bar in another area.
By 11 pm, Jane Doe decided to meet one of her other friends alone at the Chi Phi fraternity house, where she was eventually drugged and raped by multiple men.
Two days after the alleged assault, Jane went to see a doctor on campus; she told the doctor that she had contracted a urinary tract infection in a “traumatic way.” However, the doctor did not respond to her statement and rather asked her to see a therapist.
According to the reports, Cornell University said they had no additional information about Jane’s visit to the on-campus doctor.
Jane’s lawyer, Thomas Griffura, told the BBC that the doctor's visit marked another failure by Cornell.
Griffura told the BBC, "Ms Doe's disclosure warranted further inquiry, including a rape kit and consultation of medical professionals trained to deal with rape cases and a physical exam to document her injuries."
On 7 November, 2024, three weeks after the alleged assault, Jane went to get a rape kit, but no DNA evidence was found.
Griffura said that if she had gotten the rape kit in October when she went to see the doctor on campus, there were high chances of finding DNA evidence.
Jane filed a lawsuit against Cornell University in September; she also alleged that Cornell failed to protect her and punish the men involved in the crime.
In 2024, the case was referred to the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said there were no charges filed in 2024 because, according to Jane Doe’s statement at the time, she said the sex was consensual and that she was not drugged.
The investigation has reopened again right after Doe filed a lawsuit against Cornell. The university said that it had offered more information about the case to the prosecutors. The evidence that was given by Cornell included proof of a Snapchat group chat in which the Chi Phi fraternity boys discussed having “free sex” with Doe that night.
According to the report, Jane’s lawyer Griffura is not satisfied with Van Hueten’s work. He said, "The pattern I am seeing is that whenever evidence comes out supporting prosecution, he claims he never saw it."
Van Houten told the BBC that he has the full transcript of an interview by a Title IX investigator with Doe, a victim’s advocate, and one of Doe’s attorneys and a counsellor. He said that he will get to the bottom of the truth of this crime.
Jane Doe has clearly stated in her Title IX interview that she is 100 per cent sure that she was raped.
According to the details from Title IX, which is a federal law that requires universities to follow specific procedures when handling sexual assault cases.
The morning after the alleged assault, when Doe returned to her sorority, she mentioned that she had sex with a lot of people the night before, but she did not say anything about rape or assault, according to her roommates.
According to The New York Times, Doe was still in shock when she returned and did not understand the gravity of the situation.
The Title IX review also mentioned that Jane sent a text message on November 3, 2024, to a man who was involved in the alleged assault. The message read that “90 per cent of what happened that night was not consensual, I was given more ket than I can remember.” Ket was used as a short for Ketamine.
According to the Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration, ketamine is a fast-acting, injectable anesthetic used for both people and animals. Classed as a dissociative anesthetic, it distorts visual and auditory perceptions while causing users to feel detached from reality.
The Title IX review also mentioned that a man from the same fraternity texted Jane Doe and apologised for how things went that night and that he was too intoxicated to shut the thing down and kick others out.
Jane’s roommate told the university that eventually Jane realized that something bad had happened to her.
According to the reports, Jane’s lawyer said she was having a typical reaction to trauma.
"Ms Doe's internal processing went from denial to shame and ultimately acceptance that she had been raped by people that she thought were her friends,” he said.
The internet is raging over how Cornell handled the situation. 2 of the accused men were expelled. And the other 5 were able to resume school after attending a workshop.
Currently, a few men on social media are trying to find the real identity of Jane Doe, since the names of the 7 accused have come out. Women on the internet have made thousands of posts claiming to be Jane Doe to support the victim.
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