A defense attorney for one of the men accused in the Cornell 7 case is asking a judge to restrict public statements by attorneys and other parties involved in the lawsuit, arguing that media comments could prejudice potential jurors.
James Knox, who represents Diego Sarabia, is seeking the restrictions over public comments by the accuser’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra. The proposed order would restrict public statements by both sides. Sarabia is accused in the civil lawsuit of forcibly kissing the accuser and snorting ketamine off her naked body at a Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024.
Giuffra has made a series of public statements about the allegations, accusing Cornell officials of a “cover-up” and claiming they prioritized the university’s reputation and revenue over accountability. In an interview with CBS News, he declared that the seven defendants were “not all gang rapists” but were “all sexual abusers.”
He also described a Snapchat group-chat message as the “smoking gun” in the case, arguing that more than 50 fraternity members saw it and did not stop an alleged assault on his client, known as Jane Doe. On CNN, Giuffra said he believed more than seven men may have participated in the alleged assault, blaming what he characterized as an inadequate investigation.
Giuffra told the New York Post that the request was an attempt “to silence me and Ms. Doe.” He also accused defense lawyers of leaking confidential documents and making their own public comments about the case.
Doe accused the seven male students of being involved in her alleged sexual assault in 2024, but Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to bring charges at the time, citing insufficient evidence. Her recently filed civil lawsuit brought renewed attention to the case, and Van Houten said its allegations differed sharply from her original account.
All seven accused men have denied the allegations and maintain their innocence. At least three of the accused men say it was Doe who was the aggressor and that she did not obtain their consent. One of the men, Matthew Ingalls, says Doe sexually assaulted him, but the university did nothing about his allegations.
Text messages reported by The Daily Wire, show that, two days after the alleged gang rape, Doe told one of the men she now accuses of raping her that she loved him and described the sexual activity as “not illegal,” adding, “our body our choice.”
In the texts, the accuser expressed annoyance to Jonathan Newell that sorority girls were talking about her promiscuity after the encounter, but reassured Newell that what happened that night was “not illegal” and that they had no reason to feel ashamed.
“I just wanted to apologize for how things went down the other night,” Newell wrote, adding that he and Ingalls should have “shut it down and kick people out before it got way out of hand.”
“I’m getting a little heat (Pi Phi girls [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] can’t get my name out of their mouth) but that’s to be expected,” Doe wrote. “But at the end of the day non (sic) of the sexual stuff was illegal and honestly I really liked being with you and Matt. So anything anyone has to say about the [gang bang] is out of their jurisdiction.”
“I don’t think we should feel any shame for the part. Our body our choice asf (as f*ck),” she continued.
In another message, Doe wrote, “If you have any regrets or anything you want to talk about I am always here to talk about it cause I that was a lot. I really do love u and Matt and I promise I won’t get quiet and weird w u like I did last time <4.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has tapped Attorney General Letitia James to serve as special prosecutor, taking over the criminal investigation after Hochul said the civil suit raised questions about the information Van Houten’s office relied on in declining to bring charges.
