Gillio Lopes, one of the men accused in the Cornell University sexual assault lawsuit, has petitioned to remove New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor, citing her social media comments about the accuser, Jane Doe, as creating a conflict of interest. The filing, submitted in State Supreme Court in Albany, argues James should be replaced by someone free from actual or perceived bias. Lopes has denied the allegations, as have the other accused men, and no criminal charges have been filed.
James was appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul last week to investigate after the Tompkins County district attorney reopened the case. Lopes was suspended from Cornell for three semesters with two years of probation following a university disciplinary panel’s decision in May 2025, though he remains on campus while considering withdrawal.
The incident, which allegedly began as a consensual encounter on Oct. 19, 2024, escalated into a drug-fueled attack in a fraternity house, according to the lawsuit. James expressed support for Doe on social media, calling her experience "horrific and unacceptable," while Hochul said she lost faith in the local DA but retains confidence in James. Legal ethics expert Stephen Gillers noted James’s comments "skirted around" prosecutorial limits but stayed within bounds, though he wished for more care in the high-profile case.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing