Second Cornell defendant moves to oust James from rape probe
What's new: Winston Lee joined co-defendant Gillio Lopes in arguing James' public support for the accuser tainted the inquiry.
A second Cornell University student accused in a lawsuit over an alleged fraternity-house gang rape asked a New York judge to remove Attorney General Letitia James from the criminal investigation. In an Oct. 8 filing in Tompkins County, lawyers for Winston Lee argued James' public statements supporting the woman identified as Jane Doe had prejudiced potential grand jurors and created an appearance of bias. Lee joined fellow Chi Phi member Gillio Lopes in seeking James' removal as special prosecutor after Gov. Kathy Hochul assigned James to the case last week. The woman told Cornell campus police in November 2024 that she had been raped by 8 to 10 men at the fraternity house in Ithaca, and the accused men have denied wrongdoing.