SU student files lawsuit against university for mishandling investigation into Jacob Cohen sexual assault case
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UPDATED: August 30th, 2023 at 9:15 p.m.
Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
A Syracuse University student filed a lawsuit against the university this week over its handling of its investigation into Jacob Cohen, a former SU student who previously pled guilty to sexual abuse against the lawsuit’s plaintiff and her roommate in 2020.
The lawsuit alleges the university did not remove Cohen from the dormitory building directly following the two students’ report to the Department of Public Safety, syracuse.com reported Wednesday morning. After the students reported the incident, DPS took no action to prevent Cohen from entering their dorm room or have any other contact with the plaintiff, the lawsuit states.
Cohen was only moved after he reported he was assaulted in a physical altercation with a male student, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also states the university was deceptive throughout its investigative process.
During the university’s investigative process, Bernerd Jacobson, SU’s Equal Opportunity and Title IX investigator, asked the victim, who is only identified as Jane Doe, to join a Zoom call to discuss the incident she had reported to DPS, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit then claims that, without the victim’s knowledge, the call had also included her roommate, Cohen and both their lawyers.
During the five-and-a-half-hour call, the woman filing the suit was cross-examined by Cohen’s legal team, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also claims Cohen was laughing at the plaintiff during the Zoom call. At one point, after she told an SU representative that she felt ambushed, the representative responded that they assumed she would know Cohen and his team would be present, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that in April 2021, after Cohen had already been investigated, indicted and formally charged, SU asked the plaintiff to attend another hearing regarding the incident. SU sent the request less than a week before the hearing date, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit stated that this violated two of the student rights in SU’s Sexual Assault, Abuse and Assault Prevention Policy: adequate notice and unnecessary repetition of incident.
The lawsuit lists causes of action against both Cohen and SU. Against Cohen, the lawsuit lists assault, battery, conduct causing emotional distress, false imprisonment and negligence. Against SU, the lawsuit lists negligence, negligent misrepresentation/omission and breach of implied contract.
A spokesperson for SU told The Daily Orange that the university would not be commenting on active litigation.
On Aug. 29, 2020, a physical altercation occurred between Cohen and another male student, leading to DPS removing him to another dorm later that day because of threats to Cohen’s physical safety. At the second resident hall, Cohen continued to make unwanted advances toward female students, and he was moved to a third residence hall before being removed from campus in early September, the lawsuit states.
Cohen was arrested on Dec. 4, 2020, at his home in Ohio on charges of rape in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, attempted sexual abuse in the first degree and forcible touching. He was extradited to Syracuse and detained at the Onondaga County Justice Center on $200,000 bail. Cohen bonded out of jail on Dec. 16, 2020, according to Onondaga County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jon Seeber.
In 2022, Cohen pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse and third-degree rape. He was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years of probation.
The lawsuit was filed along with a restraining order signed by Judge Robert Antonacci stating that the court will not reveal the plaintiff’s identity.
