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Thomas Giuffra, the attorney representing the woman identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, told BBC Newsnight that his client has been targeted with multiple threats since the civil lawsuit became public last month. According to Giuffra, who also appeared on CNN, the messages warn that Doe or members of her family will be harmed unless she withdraws the litigation against Cornell University, the Chi Phi fraternity and seven former students. A NewsNation investigation examined one recorded phone call shared by Giuffra in which the caller named specific relatives and threatened to shoot them while stating he could not guarantee Doe’s safety.[[1]](https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/cornell-accusers-attorney-shares-threatening-calls-messages/)
Giuffra said he himself had received threats yet remained resolute in pursuing the case. “I’m not afraid of these people,” Giuffra said. “But the threats, the abuse to protect what’s going on, the status quo — these guys are disgusting. They should stay in their mother’s basement and stay out of the world.” News reports from CBC and RTE detailed additional messages that included derogatory language and references to a recent murder, suggesting the accuser should suffer a similar fate.[[2]](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cornell-rape-allegation-jane-doe-woman-threats-9.7369094)
The civil lawsuit filed on Sept. 16 accuses the seven men of plying Doe with alcohol, marijuana and ketamine before assaulting her over several hours at the Chi Phi house, a sequence outlined in a Washington Post timeline of the case. Cornell’s Title IX proceedings, which wrapped up in May 2025 after at least a dozen hearings, led to the expulsion of two students, suspensions for two others and lighter sanctions including reflection papers and training for the remainder, a New York Times review of university records found. The fraternity chapter was permanently barred from campus, though all seven men have denied the allegations and no criminal charges have been filed.[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/nyregion/cornell-men-university-discipline.html/)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Oct. 1 that she had appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor after expressing lost faith in the Tompkins County district attorney who initially declined to pursue the matter in late 2024. An Associated Press report noted that Doe told campus police weeks after the incident she could say with 100 percent confidence that she had been raped, information that was not fully reflected in the six-page summary provided to prosecutors at the time. Cornell has said it supports the appointment of an outside law firm to examine its own response to the original complaint.[[4]](https://apnews.com/article/cornell-rape-allegations-investigation-7073e8da8b027fe9ee4530ea8a549f64)
Campus protests have drawn hundreds of students and faculty calling for greater accountability from university leadership, according to coverage by Gulf News. In parallel, women on social media have adopted the hashtag IAmJaneDoe to shield the accuser’s identity after online efforts sought to expose it, a development tracked by both CBC News and RNZ. Giuffra has told reporters that at least three women wrongly identified as Doe also faced harassment as a result.[[5]](https://gulfnews.com/world/cornell-rape-allegations-woman-faces-threats-as-protests-engulf-campus-where-the-case-now-stands-1.500700100)
The case has highlighted persistent challenges in campus sexual assault investigations, with a CNN timeline showing the original police report was made three weeks after the Oct. 19, 2024, incident and that early decisions not to prosecute drew sharp criticism once the lawsuit surfaced. A New York Times analysis of more than 1,000 pages from the internal inquiry revealed discrepancies between witness statements, group chat messages and the district attorney’s initial assessment. James has stated she will review all evidence and pursue prosecutions where warranted.[[6]](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/nyregion/cornell-jane-doe-rape-investigation-documents.html)
