Two former students allege officials failed to act on repeated warnings about Esat Braveboy, who denies the allegations. A judge has allowed the case to proceed, and Cornell is appealing.
Cornell University is facing fresh allegations that it ignored complaints about a male student accused of drugging and sexually assaulting women on its Ithaca campus. Two former students sued the university and Esat Braveboy in November 2023, claiming the Ivy League institution allowed him to commit “drug-facilitated sexual assault, rape and to sodomize students” between 2018 and 2021. They say at least five to ten other students were also abused, with more victims who may not have come forward. Mr Braveboy denies the allegations, and a judge has refused to dismiss the case.
What the lawsuit alleges
The suit accuses Cornell of ignoring reports of Mr Braveboy’s “egregious sexual misconduct against college students” and failing to protect women on campus. It was filed on 10 November 2023 in Tompkins County Supreme Court under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily let some civil sexual abuse claims be brought after their usual time limits had expired.
One plaintiff says she met Mr Braveboy in June 2018 and that he repeatedly assaulted her until that autumn. She claims Cornell’s Title IX office had already received numerous complaints about him before she made her own report later that year.
The second plaintiff, who attended Cornell from 2019 to 2024, says she met him during her sophomore year in 2021. She alleges he sexually, physically and verbally assaulted her in his dorm room. She filed a complaint with the Title IX office in August but says the university did nothing. According to the lawsuit, an investigation began only after another woman came forward with allegations against him. Cornell closed it after Mr Braveboy withdrew from the university in December 2021.
Both women allege that Cornell did not report their complaints to law enforcement. Whether the university had a duty to do so in these circumstances, and whether any other agency received information, remain unresolved.
Response from the accused and the courts
Mr Braveboy has denied the sexual abuse allegations. His lawyer, Keith White, told the Daily Mail: “Mr. Braveboy’s response to the allegations are provided in his formal response to the lawsuit.” The newspaper said Mr Braveboy hung up when it called him for comment.
In a filing dated 15 January 2024, his lawyer argued that the complaint lacked specific details about the timing, location and nature of the alleged assaults, and asked the court to dismiss the sexual assault and battery claim with prejudice. His lawyers also challenged the constitutionality of the Adult Survivors Act. That was a defence argument, not a ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
Both Mr Braveboy and Cornell sought to have the lawsuit thrown out. The trial court rejected their requests, according to New York Focus. That allows the case to continue but does not mean either defendant has been found liable. Cornell has appealed, and the appeal is separate from the question of whether the alleged assaults occurred.
New York Focus reported on 9 November that the case has been in discovery, the phase in which parties exchange evidence, for about a year. The New York Post reported that deadlines have been extended and that any trial would take place after March 2027. No trial date has been confirmed.
New York Focus also reported that Ithaca Police Department said it held no records identifying Mr Braveboy as a suspect in a case. The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office had not responded to the outlet’s records request by publication, so the absence of Ithaca records does not show that no police agency was ever contacted.
A wider crisis at Cornell
The lawsuit emerged weeks after separate allegations drew national attention. A former student, identified as Jane Doe, sued after claiming seven fraternity members drugged and gang-raped her at the Chi Phi house in October 2024. She says she reported it to campus police, but prosecutors initially declined to bring criminal charges. Cornell’s own investigation led to disciplinary action against several students.
The case prompted New York Governor Kathy Hochul to appoint Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor for a new criminal investigation. Veteran outside counsel Jacqueline Kelly will lead the team. Cornell also appointed former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to independently review how it handles sexual assault complaints.
In an October video address, University President Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged the need to improve. “We as an administration and we as a community must do better,” he said.
Faculty and trustees
On Friday 6 November, Cornell’s Faculty Senate passed a no-confidence resolution on the administration’s handling of sexual assault, by 75 votes to 50, with five abstentions and five non-votes, ABC News reported. More than 260 faculty members signed an open letter criticising the university’s response to the Chi Phi allegations, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. The vote has no power to remove leaders.
The Board of Trustees reaffirmed its support for Mr Kotlikoff. Board chair Anne Smalling acknowledged the anger on campus but said the president should oversee the response, according to Inside Higher Ed. Reuters reported that he has 30 days to respond to the resolution in writing.
Policing, parties and the review
On 29 October, Cornell signed an agreement allowing students who report a sexual assault to ask for a criminal investigation by New York State Police instead of Cornell University Police. It took effect immediately and will remain available during Ms Yates’s review. The Cornell Daily Sun reported that students can now choose which agency leads a criminal investigation, but that not every Title IX disciplinary complaint will automatically become a state police inquiry.
Cornell has also banned parties and registered social events at Interfraternity Council chapter houses until 31 May 2027, whether or not alcohol is served. Fraternities can still hold some internal meetings and substance-free activities. The restriction does not apply in the same way to Panhellenic sororities or Multicultural Greek and Fraternal Council groups. Cornell says violators face emergency suspension and that it will reassess after the academic year.
Ms Yates has said her review will cover Cornell’s systems for receiving, investigating and resolving sexual misconduct allegations, including complaint channels, victim support, discipline, campus policing and fraternity oversight. It will also examine compliance with Title IX, the Clery Act, the Violence Against Women Act and New York state law. Trustees say they intend to publish her findings, and no completion date has been confirmed.
