The judge overseeing the Cornell University gang rape case is allowing “Jane Doe” to remain anonymous, court filings published Friday, Oct. 23 show.
Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond wrote that there were “compelling circumstances” to allow the woman to remain anonymous “given the notoriety of the allegations and widespread reports of certain malicious actors’ behavior in attempting to threaten and retaliate against anyone tangentially involved in the case.”
The New York Supreme Court judge’s ruling comes after the woman’s lawyer said earlier in the month that people have threatened to silence or harm her if she does not withdraw the civil lawsuit alleging that several members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity drugged and raped her in 2024.
Perry-Bond’s ruling is the latest development in the case which has sparked public outcry, dozens of protests across the nation and on which even President Donald Trump has weighed in, saying that the accused “won’t get a fair shake.”
According to the judge’s order, there was no opposition by parties involved in the case to allow Jane Doe to remain anonymous.
USA TODAY has reached out to the woman’s attorney for comment, as well as to attorneys for the defendants, including Cornell, Chi Phi and the fraternity house members involved.
The lawsuit names seven then-fraternity members, Cornell University, the Chi Phi Fraternity and others. No fraternity members have been criminally charged. At least two have denied the allegations through attorneys.
Screenshots of a fraternity Snapchat group, included in the complaint, have been widely shared online, sparking the nationwide furor over the suspected incident.
According to the Sept. 18 lawsuit, the woman was gang-raped on Oct. 19, 2024 by members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity after being pressured into taking Ketamine and being too intoxicated to consent.
Thomas Giuffra, the woman’s lawyer, previously said that she had “received multiple threats” over the lawsuit.
“The threats, the abuse to protect what’s going on, the status quo — these guys are disgusting,” he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cornell University Jane Doe allowed to remain anonymous, judge rules
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