‘She Was in Denial’: Jane Doe’s Lawyer Fires Back at Critics

Six pages. That’s what the Tompkins County District Attorney says his office relied upon when deciding not to pursue criminal charges in the media-dubbed “Cornell Seven” case in 2024. But Jane Doe’s original police interview reportedly spanned 120 pages, and her attorney is accusing Cornell University of deliberately withholding crucial information…and on national television.

Los Angeles Magazine’s reporting on this case has relied heavily on publicly available court records, including Jane Doe’s September 2026 civil complaint, Article 78 petitions and other legal challenges filed by several of the young men named on the civil suit. Many records connected to the Title IX investigations are not publicly available; so our reporting is based on the documents, testimony and other information that can be independently obtained and reviewed.

The case dates back to October 19, 2024, when a 20-year-old Cornell University student alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple men inside the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca, New York.

The allegations resurfaced nationally after Doe filed a 101-page civil lawsuit in September, naming seven former fraternity members, Cornell University and several other defendants. But one of the biggest questions has focused on what happened between Doe’s police interview and the district attorney’s decision not to prosecute.

In November 2024, Doe participated in an extensive interview with Cornell University Police and a Title IX investigator. That interview reportedly produced 120 pages of transcript. However, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten maintains that his office received and relied upon a condensed, six-page statement that Doe reviewed, corrected and signed. Van Houten has defended his original decision, arguing that the information presented to prosecutors did not establish a criminal offense under New York law.

CBS News has obtained and released that six-page statement, although portions remain heavily redacted, and many are demanding the full 120-pages be released.

In one passage released by CBS, Doe recalls standing naked in front of several men before sitting back down and attempting to cover herself. She describes consuming ketamine, marijuana and alcohol, becoming increasingly uncomfortable and eventually thinking about taking more ketamine in hopes of “passing out.” According to her statement, she believed that if she became unconscious and the men continued having sex with her, they could potentially be charged with rape. The statement reads as rather perplexing, however that is what’s printed (though again, it’s said to be an incomplete statement, though it was sworn).

Another passage describes multiple men touching her while she was lying on a bed, exhausted and intoxicated. And perhaps one of the most significant statements appears at the end of the document. Doe wrote that two men repeatedly asked her to have sex until she finally agreed.

“To me it felt like coercion.”

This phrasing could matter down the road because agreeing to sexual activity after repeated pressure is not necessarily the same as freely consenting. But, whether the circumstances meet New York’s legal definition of a sexual offense is a separate question for investigators and prosecutors.

Meanwhile, CBS News previously obtained the much longer interview transcript, which revealed something Van Houten says he never knew. During that interview, Doe explicitly told investigators she was confident she had been raped.

Van Houten acknowledged to CBS that he had not received that information and said it warranted further investigation. Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, is going even further.

During an exclusive appearance on NewsNation’s CUOMO, hosted by Chris Cuomo, Giuffra accused Cornell of deliberately minimizing what happened.

“It’s a big black eye to Cornell University that one of their sophomores is getting gang raped,” Giuffra told Cuomo last week.

He alleged again that the original interview had been reduced to a six-page document that omitted significant details concerning violence and lack of consent. Giuffra characterized that as a cover-up; which is an accusation that has not been established as fact.

Los Angeles Magazine’s recent research has uncovered at least two cases involving Cornell fraternity members, neither affiliated with Chi Phi, who died after falling from heights. At least one of the deaths occurred during rush week, and the families have pursued legal action against the university. But let’s put a pin in that.

Giuffra also addressed social media commentary suggesting Doe’s communications following the alleged incident demonstrated that she had consented. Giuffra argued that those interpretations ignored how some sexual assault survivors process traumatic experiences. He’s referring to the TMZ-leaked messages where Doe says “our body our choice” and “none of the sexual stuff was illegal.”

“She was in denial because nobody wants to be labeled as a victim,” he told NewsNation’s CUOMO. He described what he believes was a progression from denial to shame and eventually recognition of what had happened.

“I mean, she was classic delayed recognition of what happened to her. She went through all the steps, every single step that you see in delayed recognition. And this is science. This is reported in medical journals, scientific journals. It’s well known to people in the field. Now, I’m not going to be an expert witness. There are a lot of expert witnesses that you can reach out to that can explain it better than me. But one thing I can tell you is she fit the textbook reaction. She was in denial because nobody wants to be labeled as a victim. Nobody does. And then she felt shame. What did I do? What could I have done differently? And then she moves on to acceptance. And that’s exactly what happened here,” the lawyer went on to explain.

Giuffra also pointed to Cornell’s internal Title IX proceedings, asserting that university hearing officers found former fraternity member Johnathan Newell responsible for rape and for facilitating sexual exploitation involving other men. 

Those are Giuffra’s characterizations of the university’s findings, which are separate from any criminal determination.

Cornell’s disciplinary investigation resulted in different outcomes for the accused students, including expulsions, suspensions and findings that some were not responsible for sexual misconduct. The accused men have disputed allegations of criminal wrongdoing. And the controversy has now extended past the original investigation.

Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor after questions emerged about the handling of the case.

At least two defendants have challenged James’s involvement, arguing that her prior public statements spark concerns about impartiality and fairness. A Tompkins County judge recently called an Oct. 29 hearing to hear arguments from both the Attorney General’s team, and a lawyer representing one of the former fraternity brothers.

Meanwhile, Cornell has agreed to an independent review of its handling of sexual misconduct complaints by hiring Sally Yates. And the question remains: why wasn’t the complete interview transcript provided to the district attorney in the first place? Or was it?

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