The former Cornell University student who accused seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers of raping and drugging her has “basically not been functioning” after filing a civil lawsuit, according to her lawyer.
“She’s receiving threats and other people are also receiving threats,” Thomas Giuffra, the attorney representing the woman solely known as Jane Doe, told People on Monday, October 5.
“There are threats, ‘If you don’t drop this lawsuit, I’m gonna do X, Y, and Z,’ you know, that kind of stuff,” he alleged, adding that the harassment has been coming from “online trolls.”
Giuffra went on to say that the threats have “really made her scared” and that it’s “really been very hard on her.”
The attorney said he has also received threats, while women who have been mistakenly identified as Doe have also been threatened.
Giuffra said that the trolls “want to silence women.”
“They want to silence people from speaking out. And they want to be able to keep the status quo because they’re sending the message, ‘If you speak out, we’re coming after you,’” he added.
In light of the harassment, police presence has increased in the area where Doe lives.
Giuffra said that allegedly being gang raped by the fraternity brothers has ruined Doe’s life, and she’s “dealing with the trauma on a day-to-day basis and the impact of the trauma on her life, which has been vast.”
While reflecting on the incident, Giuffra said that Doe was forced to drop out of Cornell due to the trauma.
“She’s lost her Ivy League career,” he said. “She basically hasn’t been functioning for the last … since this has happened, and she should be made whole as best as can be. She’s going to have to live with this for the rest of her life.”
Giuffra spoke out less than three weeks after Doe filed a civil complaint against seven members of Chi Phi in which she claimed she was drugged and raped at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, until around 5:45 a.m. the next morning.
She admitted to drinking before she arrived at the house and said she engaged in sexual activity with two fraternity brothers. The incident then escalated when the fraternity brothers sent a message in their Snapchat group chat announcing there was “free p****” in the room. Five others then went on to allegedly assault her.
While she did report the incident to campus police, prosecutors never pursued charges against the accused fraternity brothers in 2024. (The fraternity brothers have since denied any wrongdoing.)
After the lawsuit was made public on September 18, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced that his office will reopen the investigation.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
