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Cornell alum, ‘Diddy’ prosecutor tapped to investigate allegations of campus gang rape
By
Samantha Max
Published Nov 4, 2026 at 3:20 p.m. ET
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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Nov 4, 2026 at 3:20 p.m. ET
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A former federal prosecutor who oversaw the sex trafficking case against Sean “Diddy” Combs is now leading an investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday that Jacqueline Kelly will serve as outside counsel in the high-profile case.
“The Office of the Attorney General is committed to a thorough investigation guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law,” James said in a statement, describing Kelly as a “seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial.”
She added: “With her criminal legal experience, commitment to public service and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation.”
An unnamed former student filed a lawsuit in September accusing seven men of pressuring her to consume drugs and alcohol, then raping her while she was intoxicated. The civil complaint prompted protests at Cornell and reignited a decades-long debate about how to prevent sexual assault on college campuses, as well as how to address the limitations of New York’s sexual assault laws.
A spokesperson for the university said the administration fully supports a special prosecutor’s appointment and is committed to an independent review of how it has handled the case. The spokesperson, who declined to be named, also said the university supports efforts to change the state’s rape laws.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said last month she would remove Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten from the case after he declined to bring criminal charges. The governor signed an executive order that appointed the attorney general’s office to investigate the woman’s allegations. Kelly will lead that team, which James said is tasked with gathering evidence, reviewing records from previous investigations, interviewing witnesses and assessing whether any laws were broken.
“All New Yorkers deserve a fair and thorough inquiry into the facts of this case,” Kelly said in a statement. “I look forward to lending my years of experience as a federal prosecutor to the Office of the Attorney General as we examine all available evidence.”
Kelly is a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, where she represents sexual assault victims, as well as companies facing investigations, according to a biography on the firm’s website.
Before going into private practice, she served as the first chief of the civil rights unit in the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. In that role, she supervised the prosecutions of Combs, a doctor accused of sexually abusing dozens of patients, and the CEO of a clothing company charged with sex trafficking.
Kelly is a Cornell University alum and went to law school at Columbia University.
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public safety
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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