Jane Doe’s family home hit with swatting attack after Cornell rape allegations: lawyer | CBC Radio

Lawsuit aims to change culture around sexual assault at Cornell, says lawyer Thomas Giuffra

A SWAT team with assault rifles recently descended on the family home of Jane Doe, the woman at the centre of the Cornell University rape allegations, her lawyer says.

"Swatting" is a harassment technique involving calling police to falsely report an ongoing serious incident like a shooting or hostage-taking, in order to draw a response to a location.

Giuffra said the incident is part of escalating threats against the woman, who is identified only as Jane Doe in court documents but has faced concerted efforts to publish her identity online.

Jane Doe is now suing the seven men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university and others for undisclosed damages, in a lawsuit that alleges she suffered "severe emotional and psychological distress and personal physical injury" due to the alleged assault and the university’s response. All seven men named in the lawsuit deny any wrongdoing.

“It's been a challenging month for her. It was difficult before. It's gotten considerably worse,” Giuffra said.

He also pledged to suspend frat parties for the remainder of the academic year, add sexual assault investigators to the campus police force and provide better supports for survivors.

“She's trying to change the culture of Cornell … we're trying to make sure that there are no more Jane Does,” he said.

‘She’s trying to change the culture of Cornell,’ says Jane Doe’s lawyer

While he once believed there was a positive change underway, he now worries the culture of sexual assault might be more prevalent than he even realized.

He thinks there’s a need “to deal with it early on … to educate young men on how to treat women.”

The high-profile Cornell 7 case has sparked a conversation about sexual violence