Cornell University Faces Lawsuit Over Sexual Assault Allegations Against Student

Two female students filed a lawsuit against Cornell University in November 2023, alleging the school ignored complaints about a male student named Esat Braveboy. The plaintiffs claim he sexually, physically, and verbally assaulted them on campus between 2018 and 2021.

According to the lawsuit, Braveboy committed drug-facilitated sexual assaults, rapes, and acts of sodomy against students. The women state that at least five to ten other women were also victimized by the student, with potentially more who have not come forward.

“At least five-ten others are known to have been sexually abused by the student, and it is believed that many more were abused but have yet to come forward.”

One plaintiff says she met Braveboy in June 2018 and was repeatedly assaulted until that autumn. She alleges Cornell's Title IX office had already received numerous complaints about him before she filed her report.

The second plaintiff, who studied at Cornell from 2019 to 2024, says she met him in 2021 during her second year. She alleges he assaulted her sexually, physically, and verbally in her dorm room in May.

She filed a complaint with the same office in August, but the university reportedly took no action. An investigation began only after another woman accused Braveboy and was closed when he left the university in December.

Cornell asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the allegations did not meet certain legal standards. The male student denied all allegations of abuse in court filings.

A trial court denied the motions to dismiss, and the case is scheduled to move to trial next year.