New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday that Jacqueline Kelly, the former federal prosecutor who oversaw the criminal case against Sean "Diddy" Combs, will lead the investigation into an alleged 2024 sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity house.
Kelly, a Cornell graduate, was 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. She is now a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, a firm that represented women who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse.
James, who was re-elected Tuesday as the state's top law enforcement official, described Kelly in a statement as "a seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial." She added, "With her criminal legal expertise, commitment to public service, and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation."
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the review on Oct. 1 after raising concerns that the local district attorney who originally considered charges did not properly assess the case. Kelly thanked James for the opportunity in a statement, saying, "All New Yorkers deserve a fair and thorough inquiry into the facts of this case. 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."
A former Cornell student filed a lawsuit in September under the pseudonym Jane Doe, accusing seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of plying her with drugs and sexually assaulting her after what was initially a consensual threesome at the chapter's house on Oct. 19 and 20, 2024. The woman, who later dropped out of school, reported the incident to the university and campus police in November 2024. Records reviewed by NBC News show the Cornell University Police Department interviewed several witnesses and obtained other evidence.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined to bring charges after his office reviewed a six-page statement provided by Jane Doe, which he said did not describe a potential crime. Records show Van Houten's team did not review additional statements from Jane Doe and others who were interviewed.
Lawyers for two of the accused fraternity members have asked different state judges to disqualify James from leading the case, arguing that past comments she made on social media in support of Jane Doe exhibit a pre-judgment and bias. Those requests are pending. James has said her investigation will be fair and fact-based and that the remarks, made before she was appointed, were rooted in empathy for the accuser. Her office "is committed to a thorough investigation guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law," she said.
On the day James was appointed, her office said she was expected to recruit an outside attorney to assist in-house lawyers with the probe. Kelly is now set to bring a team from the law firm she joined as a partner last year. Her bio says she specializes in "high-profile regulatory or criminal investigations, as well as victims of sexual assault and other crimes."
Kelly also worked on a New York indictment against octogenarian fashion CEO Peter Nygard, who was sentenced in Canada in 2024 to 11 years in prison for sexual assaults, and she handled a case against Ricardo Cruciani, a pain management doctor accused of sexually abusing a number of patients in several states. In 2025, she oversaw the prosecution that led to Combs' conviction for transportation to engage in prostitution, though jurors acquitted him of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy counts. He is currently serving a 50-month federal prison sentence.
One of the men accused in Jane Doe's lawsuit, Winston Lee, is represented by Teny Geragos, the attorney who defended Combs at his federal trial. Geragos declined to comment on Kelly's appointment.
