Former federal prosecutor to lead Cornell sex assault investigation

By Kara Scannell, CNN

(CNN) — The New York attorney general’s office tapped a former federal prosecutor experienced in sex crime cases to lead the criminal investigation into allegations of sexual assault at Cornell University.

Jacqueline Kelly, a Cornell graduate, will have decision-making authority to investigate claims made by Jane Doe, a former Cornell student who has alleged seven male students sexually assaulted her at a Chi Phi fraternity party in 2024. They have denied wrongdoing.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday in a statement announcing the appointment that her office is committed to an investigation “guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law.”

James said 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’s appointment comes a month after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order designating James as a special prosecutor because she “lost faith” in the Tompkins County district attorney, who had previously reviewed the case without filing charges. The allegations and scrutiny over Cornell’s handling of them drew national attention to sexual assault on college campuses.

“All New Yorkers deserve a fair and thorough inquiry into the facts of this case,” Kelly said in the attorney’s general’s statement.

At the time of Hochul’s announcement, officials with the attorney general’s office said they would appoint an outside lawyer to lead the investigation and present evidence to a grand jury, if warranted. The office previously appointed outside counsel to investigate civil claims of sexual harassment by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The office’s criminal authority is limited to investigating police-involved shootings, financial crimes and organized crime. Kelly’s experience will bring specialized skills to a sex crime investigation.

Kelly was the first chief of the civil rights unit created within the criminal division at the US attorney’s office in Manhattan in 2021. Until she left the office last year, Kelly oversaw criminal investigations of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was acquitted of sex trafficking but convicted on transportation to engage in prostitution charges; Peter Nygard, a Canadian fashion designer charged with sex trafficking women and minors; and Ricardo Cruciani, a prominent doctor who was charged with sexually abusing numerous patients. She also handled organized crime cases.

Kelly will remain a partner at New York law firm Boies Schiller, which she joined last year, and staff the team from the attorney general’s office and her law firm, according to the statement. Boies Schiller has represented several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein in civil litigation, including one of the most outspoken ones, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide last year.

It’s unclear if the appointment will impact legal challenges raised by two of the seven male students accused of assaulting Doe. In separate challenges the two Cornell students argued James is biased in favor of Doe based on statements she made days before her appointment.

On September 28, James wrote 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. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”

Last week a New York state judge sharply questioned a lawyer for the attorney general about the statement and James’ appearance beside Hochul at a news conference on October 2 as the governor expressed support for Doe.

A lawyer for the attorney general’s office said it was not an “impediment” to an investigation and that the students’ claims of bias are without merit. James, she said, would follow the facts and the law.

The judge was also skeptical of the student’s petition because none of the others accused joined in support of it. He gave the lawyer until Thursday to get attorneys for the other students to sign on or produce legal arguments why it shouldn’t be dismissed on technical legal grounds.

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