A New York judge has ordered court records sealed and denounced internet vigilantism after multiple innocent people who share names with defendants in a Cornell University sexual assault civil lawsuit became targets of threats and online abuse.
New York Supreme Court Justice Phaedra F. Perry-Bond issued the order Friday in Manhattan, agreeing to seal court documents and remove an erroneous address that belonged to an active-duty U.S. Marine rather than a defendant in the case, WSTM reported. Perry-Bond criticized what she described as reckless public behavior that endangered people who had no connection to the events described in the complaint.
Mistaken address exposes military family
The civil action, filed Sept. 14 by a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe, accuses seven former members of the Chi Phi fraternity of drugging and sexually assaulting her in October 2024, according to reporting by Fox News and The Star. The lawsuit also names the fraternity, the university, a sorority and a local establishment, Moonies Bar and Nightclub.
Court filings submitted on behalf of the plaintiff mistakenly listed the residential address of a U.S. Marine who shares a name with one of the accused men. Attorney Elliot Hallak, representing the service member, filed a motion on Oct. 6 asking the court to strike the document. Hallak stated that his client was stationed in North Carolina when the alleged assault occurred, had never attended Cornell and had no involvement in the matter, Fox News reported.
Hallak noted that although lawyers for the plaintiff submitted an amended filing with a corrected address, the original paperwork remained public. As a result, strangers posted the family’s phone numbers on the internet and sent them death threats, Hallak wrote in court papers.
In her Friday decision, Perry-Bond directed the county clerk to seal several docket filings containing identifying data, calling the actions of online pursuers dangerous and unacceptable. The judge wrote that the legal system has spent centuries establishing due process to ensure fairness, warning that innocent people suffer when individuals choose to operate outside those rules.
Public debate should never become so heated that people engage in misguided vigilantism to the point that individuals, whether a party to litigation or mistakenly identified as a party, become inundated with malicious threats, or even worse, are physically harmed, Perry-Bond wrote in her ruling, as quoted by WSTM.
Widespread harassment across social platforms
The misdirected outrage has extended beyond the servicemember’s family. Unrelated individuals who share the name of another defendant, identified in student newspaper reports as Winston Lee, have faced relentless online attacks across social media, according to The Korea Herald and The Star.
A University of Pennsylvania student surnamed Lee told The Korea Herald that strangers flooded his accounts with abusive messages telling him he belonged in prison. The harassment grew so intense that he placed a disclaimer on his professional LinkedIn account reading, “I do NOT go to Cornell.” He added that he has communicated with other individuals facing similar harassment, including one person who sought counseling to cope with the ongoing hostility.
Other men have also tried to clear their names publicly. An Indonesian man published a statement on Instagram urging internet users to halt false accusations and stop sending threatening messages, The Star reported.
Pending legal proceedings
The civil litigation has generated intense scrutiny, demonstrations and property damage on the Cornell campus, Fox News reported. While local prosecutors initially declined to bring criminal charges, authorities recently reopened the criminal investigation and intend to present evidence to a grand jury. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also directed state Attorney General Letitia James to open an investigation.
Meanwhile, defendants in the civil action are contesting the proceedings. Moonies Bar and Nightclub recently filed a motion requesting to move the venue from New York City to Tompkins County, where the university is located and the alleged assault occurred.
