N.Y. attorney general says former prosecutor will lead Cornell rape investigation

A former federal prosecutor will lead the criminal investigation into the alleged rape at Cornell University, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said Wednesday.

Jacqueline Kelly, a former civil rights unit chief for the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, will serve as outside counsel. She will lead a team from the attorney general’s office and Boies Schiller Flexner, the law firm where Kelly is a partner. Kelly, a graduate of Cornell and of Columbia University’s law school, will report to James’s office.

James began the search for an outside counsel on Oct. 1, the day New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed her as special prosecutor in the case, which has drawn intense scrutiny to the issue of sexual assault on college campuses.

Earlier this fall, a former Cornell student, known as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit against the university and multiple defendants, alleging that she was the victim of a gang rape in October 2024. None of the men accused in the case faced criminal charges. The lawsuit prompted outrage and questions about the university and the law enforcement response to the claims.

The men accused in the case faced a range of sanctions, including expulsion, after the university conducted a Title IX investigation, but protests at Cornell and on other campuses called for more to be done for Jane Doe and for other people reporting sexual assault.

Faculty senators are voting this week on a resolution expressing no confidence in the school’s central administration’s ability to address “the ongoing crisis of sexual assault” at Cornell. The school’s leaders have announced multiple changes in recent weeks, including appointing a former deputy U.S. attorney general to lead an independent review of the university’s response.

Attorneys for one of the men accused in the case have asked the court to remove James as special prosecutor, saying she displayed prejudice before being appointed special prosecutor when she posted on X, “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.

“I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers,” James wrote on Sept. 28. “To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”

James has not stepped down or been removed.

At a hearing last week in Sullivan County, New York, Kaitlin Vigars, an assistant attorney general representing James and Hochul in the matter, said that it was premature to say James had shown bias.

Judge James R. Farrell questioned Vigars about the social media post, which had been seen by more than half a million people, but also asked if it would be fair to remove her from the case if the other men accused in the case had not joined the petition.

On Wednesday, James said in a news release that her office is committed to a thorough investigation “guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law. Jacqueline Kelly is a seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial. With her criminal legal expertise, commitment to public service, and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation.”

Kelly was part of the Southern District of New York team that prosecuted music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs was convicted last year on two prostitution-related charges. He was acquitted of three more serious counts of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.