A New York judge on Friday sealed several of the documents in the case brought by a woman who said she was gang-raped at a fraternity house at Cornell University two years ago, citing the doxing of a U.S. Marine and his family.
Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond in New York’s Supreme Court in New York County said the address of a Marine who shares the same name as one of the defendants in the suit was mistakenly listed in the case files. While the woman’s lawyer has since filed a list of defendants with corrected addresses, the original filing with the mistaken address remained part of the public online court file.
“Certain ‘vigilantes’ have used an erroneous address to inundate a former Marine and his family with threats, simply because of a name shared with a defendant in the case,” Perry-Bond wrote in her ruling on Friday. “That behavior must cease immediately, is completely unacceptable, and provides more than ample cause to seal certain documents on this court’s docket.”
The sealed documents include the initial complaint brought by the woman, identified only as Jane Doe, who was 20 years old in 2024 when she alleges seven men sexually assaulted her. The judge asked Doe’s lawyer to refile redacted versions of the documents without the addresses to help deter doxing — the act of publishing someone’s personal information to harass or hurt them.
The judge said the court is mindful that the information is “highly likely” to already be on the internet elsewhere, but said the court must do its part to reduce any harm.
John Manly, an attorney representing the Marine’s sister and parents, told The Post Thursday that both the 23-year-old Marine and his family have received threats, even though the man was in the Marine Corps in 2024 when the incident allegedly happened at Cornell.
He said the family wanted the address removed from the court documents, but is also considering legal action against people who threaten and harass them, including seeking criminal charges.
“If you are sending threatening messages, we will find you and go after you,” Manly said.
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