The attorney for the woman who alleges she was gang raped by fellow Cornell University students in 2024 has confirmed that his client explicitly told police she was sexually assaulted, directly contradicting statements made this week by the local prosecutor handling the case.
Thomas Giuffra, the attorney representing the woman identified in court documents as Jane Doe, told NPR that transcripts of his client's sworn statement from 2024 show she told investigators, "I can say with 100% percent confidence I was raped." When NPR asked Giuffra to confirm on the record that his client made that exact quoted statement regarding her assault, he responded by text message: "Yes she did."
The confirmation escalates a growing dispute over how the Tompkins County District Attorney's office has characterized the alleged victim's account. Earlier this week, District Attorney Matthew Van Houten issued a public statement claiming that Doe never stated she was raped — a characterization that Giuffra's confirmation now directly challenges.
Van Houten told NPR's local affiliate WSKG on Wednesday that he had not read the full account of Doe's detailed statements to investigators in which she repeatedly described being assaulted. The admission raises questions about whether the district attorney's public statements were based on an incomplete review of the investigative record.
The discrepancy between the prosecutor's characterization and the alleged victim's actual words has become a central point of contention in a case that has drawn national attention and sparked scrutiny of how both campus and local authorities have handled the allegations. The case stems from a 2024 incident involving the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
NPR asked Cornell University whether campus police provided the district attorney with all of the information from their investigation, including Doe's repeated statements about being assaulted. The university did not respond to the request for comment, leaving unanswered questions about the flow of information between campus law enforcement and the county prosecutor's office.
CBS News New York reported Wednesday on a transcript of an interview between the woman and police, further bringing the details of her account into public view. That reporting, combined with Giuffra's confirmation to NPR, has intensified pressure on Van Houten to explain his public statements about the case.
The case has already prompted significant institutional responses. Cornell has agreed to an independent probe into its handling of the fraternity rape case, a move that followed mounting criticism of how the university addressed the allegations. The independent investigation is expected to examine the university's response to the reported assault and its coordination with law enforcement.
Legal observers note that discrepancies between a prosecutor's public statements and an alleged victim's actual testimony can have profound implications for both the case itself and public confidence in the justice system. When a prosecutor mischaracterizes a victim's account, it can discourage other survivors from coming forward and undermine trust in the authorities responsible for pursuing justice.
The dispute also highlights the complex jurisdictional dynamics at play in campus sexual assault cases, where university police departments and local prosecutors must coordinate their investigations. In this case, questions remain about what information Cornell's campus police force shared with the district attorney and whether that information was reviewed thoroughly before public statements were made.
Advocates for sexual assault survivors have long argued that the language used by law enforcement and prosecutors matters enormously, both in terms of how cases are pursued and how victims are treated. The difference between saying an accuser "never stated she was raped" and acknowledging she said she was raped "with 100% confidence" is not merely semantic — it can shape the entire trajectory of a prosecution.
The case continues to unfold amid heightened national attention on campus sexual assault and the handling of such allegations by both universities and local authorities. The independent investigation at Cornell and the ongoing dispute over the prosecutor's characterization of the victim's statements are likely to remain focal points in the weeks ahead.
For now, the record appears clear on one point: according to her attorney, Jane Doe told police in 2024 that she was raped. The question of why the district attorney publicly suggested otherwise — and whether he had reviewed all the available evidence before doing so — remains unanswered.
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