New York Attorney General Letitia James has named Jacqueline Kelly, the attorney who led the prosecution of Sean “Diddy” Combs, to head the investigation into the so-called Cornell 7 case, a gang rape allegation against seven men tied to a Cornell University fraternity.
The case stems from a civil lawsuit filed by a woman identified only as Jane Doe, who alleges she was gang raped during a frat party at Cornell two years earlier. Her suit names the seven men, the fraternity, her own sorority for allegedly allowing her to drink too much, and Cornell University itself. The suit became national news after it hit the courts, prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to assign James to oversee a potential criminal prosecution.
James has now put Kelly in charge of that investigation. “Jacqueline Kelly is a seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial. With her criminal legal expertise, commitment to public service, and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation,” James said in a statement.
Who is Jacqueline Kelly
Kelly currently represents sexual assault accusers as a partner at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which she joined in 2025, shortly after Sean Combs was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges but convicted on prostitution-related counts, according to the New York Post.
Kelly led the prosecution against Combs, but that case did not deliver the outcome prosecutors sought on the most serious counts. Combs was convicted only on two charges under the Mann Act, a federal law barring transporting someone across state lines for prostitution. He is expected to be released from prison in 2028.
What the evidence shows so far
Reporting on the Cornell case has pointed to contemporaneous evidence, including text messages from the alleged victim and statements she gave in a campus police report, that critics say are at odds with the gang rape allegation now central to her civil suit. No criminal charges have been filed against the seven men as of this report.
The appointment puts a prosecutor with direct experience building a high-profile sexual assault case, but a mixed record at trial, in charge of deciding whether the Cornell allegations warrant criminal prosecution. For a readership skeptical of politically timed prosecutions, the timing bears watching: the civil suit surfaced ahead of the midterm elections, and the criminal investigation is now being run by a state attorney general’s office under direct instruction from the governor.
