The woman who accused seven Cornell University fraternity brothers of gang raping her in 2024 is now living in fear after her home was swarmed by police officers in a swatting incident, according to her lawyer.
Thomas Giuffra told CNN that the victim, known by the alias Jane Doe, has been targeted on several occasions after she filed a lawsuit regarding the claims in September. He said that a swatting incident prompted police to swarm her family’s home on Tuesday, October 6, with weapons drawn.
The attorney said that officers pointed weapons at Doe’s boyfriend, her brother and her father after they received a bogus tip that “someone was killing people in the house.”
Giuffra explained that police officers reported to the home around 7 p.m. on Tuesday after someone called 911 to falsely report that a man shot and killed his mother before he turned the gun on his sister.
As the officer arrived, he saw a car backing out of the driveway. The officer then approached the two men in the vehicle, who were later revealed to be Doe’s brother and her boyfriend, and her father exited the home to ask what was going on. Giuffra said that the man told police that their family was “being threatened by numerous unknown people” after his daughter publicly made the claims.
“Luckily the brother was in his car, [he] put his hands up,” Giuffra said of the incident. He added that Doe’s “boyfriend got thrown on the ground” and her father had “guns put in his face.”
“If you had a trigger-happy cop, or somebody had done the wrong thing, somebody could have ended up dead,” he said.
Police are now investigating the swatting attempt, and the FBI is also looking into the incident.
Doe was so shaken by the incident that she taped up paper to obscure the windows of her parents’ home on Wednesday, October 7, because she now believes a gunman may target the residence.
The swatting incident was not the only upsetting thing to happen to Doe and her family. Giuffra said they have received death threats, doxxing attempts and an outpouring of anger online in which violent threats have been made against them.
Shortly before the officer arrived at the home, Doe reportedly received a phone call from somebody who claimed to share a first name with one of the seven men she accused of assaulting her.
Doe “began panicking” when she received the call, “because [her phone] wouldn’t stop ringing.” She then told the officers about that previous call while they were at her home during the swatting incident.
“I don’t think she’s in a good spot now,” Giuffra said of Doe. “She’s scared.”
The harassment began after Doe filed a lawsuit in New York State Superior Court on September 16 claiming that seven Chi Phi brothers pressured her into snorting ketamine, as well as giving her marijuana and alcohol, before they allegedly raped her at the fraternity’s house in October 2024.
She reported the incident soon after, but none of the men were hit with criminal charges after Cornell University conducted an investigation.
Nearly two years later, the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office announced they were relaunching the investigation in light of the lawsuit.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
