Cornell fraternity member seeks dismissal from Jane Doe’s sexual assault lawsuit

One of the men sued by a former Cornell University student identified as Jane Doe has asked a judge to dismiss the claims against him, arguing that her allegations do not support her broader accusations of rape and sexual assault.

Diego Sarabia filed the motion Friday seeking dismissal of all claims against him in the lawsuit Doe filed Sept. 16 in New York state court. Sarabia, who was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity, was one of seven men originally sued by Doe for allegedly participating in a gang rape at the Chi Phi house from Oct. 19 to 20, 2024.

Sarabia denies the allegations against him, according to the filing. His attorneys argue that even if the complaint’s factual allegations are accepted as true for the purposes of the motion, the claims against him were filed too late, are legally insufficient, or both.

James C. Knox, an attorney for Sarabia, wrote in the motion that as far as the allegations against his client, “this is essentially a lawsuit about a forced kiss.” Knox argued that the conduct Doe attributed to Sarabia did not qualify for the extended statute of limitations she cited for certain sexual offenses.

Doe accused Sarabia of grabbing her face, kissing her and snorting ketamine off her body with other fraternity members during a drug- and alcohol-fueled encounter in what was known as the “alumni room” of the fraternity house.

“Throughout a sprawling complaint approaching 600 paragraphs, plaintiff repeatedly, collectively and without differentiation accuses seven student defendants of ‘sexual assault and rape,’” Knox wrote in his filing. “Those legally conclusory statements do not substitute for pleaded facts.”

Knox argued that the complaint did not allege that Sarabia “supplied her with drugs or alcohol, participated in any of the alleged sexual encounters described elsewhere in the complaint, or was even present for most of the conduct that forms the basis of plaintiff’s broader allegations.”

The attorney said that the assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims were barred by a one-year statute of limitations and the allegations against Sarabia did not qualify for extensions cited in the complaint.

Doe’s attorney Thomas Giuffra declined to comment on Sunday. Giuffra previously agreed to withdraw claims against the acting president of the fraternity’s chapter at the time.

The lawsuit inspired calls for a reckoning at the Ivy League institution, where past and current students and community members have accused the administration of not doing enough to protect women from sexual assault.

Cornell’s Board of Trustees hired former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates “to lead a comprehensive independent review of how the University prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus.”

Doe’s allegations were investigated by Cornell University Police. An internal civil rights investigation led to the expulsion of two students and disciplinary action against others. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to bring charges in November 2024 based on a six-page statement in which Doe described some of the sexual conduct that night as consensual.

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Van Houten declined to evaluate other investigative materials that had been gathered by investigators, including other witness statements.

Gov. Kathy Hochul called the evaluation inadequate and recently appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate the allegations. James’ office has started that process. The attorney general is expected to hire outside investigators to assist with the effort.

Two of the accused men are seeking to disqualify James from overseeing the investigation based on a comment she made on social media about the case before she was tapped to run the probe. They argued the state’s top law enforcement official had prejudged the case. Both challenges are still pending.

James has deflected calls to step down from the case and has said she is “committed to leading a comprehensive investigation they can trust, guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law.”