By Karen Sloan
Oct 6 (Reuters) - Cornell University has hired a top former US Justice Department lawyer for an internal investigation of how it handled a student's allegations that she was gang-raped, a case that has brought mounting scrutiny and triggered student protests at the Ivy League school.
Sally Yates, who served as deputy US attorney general from 2015 to 2017, will conduct an independent review of how Cornell prevents and responds to sexual assault claims, university officials said on Tuesday.
The investigation by Yates, now a partner at law firm King & Spalding, will include a “detailed review” of Cornell’s response to the student's claims that she was sexually assaulted by multiple men during a fraternity party in October 2024.
The student, referred to as Jane Doe in a lawsuit she filed against Cornell and seven fraternity members, has said the Ithaca, New York university failed to adequately investigate and punish the fraternity members involved.
Other Cornell students staged a mass rally on Monday voicing solidarity with Jane Doe and demanding that the school take firmer action against sexual violence on campus.
A newly formed Special Committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees said Yates will have “full independence” to conduct her review.
A lawyer for Jane Doe, Thomas Giuffra, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday about the investigation.
Yates was previously hired by the US Soccer Federation to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct within the National Women's Soccer League.
'DEFINING MOMENT'
Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff on October 3 called the alleged sexual assault case a “defining moment” and said the university "must do better."
In her lawsuit, filed last month, Jane Doe said she was plied with drugs and alcohol and then sexually assaulted by several members of the campus chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024 after she had become incapacitated.
She had reported the alleged assault to police several weeks after the fact, leading to an internal university investigation and a law enforcement probe, but the local prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges.
Cornell, which has defended its response to the original report, shut down the Chi Phi chapter and imposed a range of discipline on the fraternity members involved, including expulsions and other sanctions.
(Reporting by Karen Sloan; Editing by David Bario and David Gregorio)
