Cornell gangrape case: Defendant Diego Sarabia seeks dismissal from Jane Doe's lawsuit

A Cornell University student identified as a defendant in a civil action initiated by a former undergraduate student, referred to as Jane Doe, has petitioned the court for dismissal from the proceedings.Diego Sarabia has petitioned to be removed from a civil case brought by a former Cornell undergraduate. (Getty Images via AFP)The legal complaint alleges that during an incident of alleged gang rape occurring in 2024, Diego Sarabia engaged in non-consensual physical contact with Jane Doe. He, according to lawsuit, “grabbed her face and started kissing her, all without her consent,” before her disengagement from the situation.Sarabia was recently fired from his position at Wells Fargo. According to sources who spoke with TMZ, Sarabia's employment at the Charlotte, North Carolina branch, where he had been employed since 2022, has ended.Cornell student denies allegations, seeks dismissal from civil caseJoe alleged that Sarabia was among the seven accused who allegedly snorted ketamine off her body during an intoxicated gathering in the fraternity house's designated the “alumni room”.Sarabia submitted a motion on Friday requesting the dismissal of all claims brought against him in the litigation that Doe initiated on September 16 in New York state court.Sarabia contests the allegations directed toward him, as stated in the filing. His legal counsel contends that, even if the complaint's factual assertions were to be accepted as accurate for the purposes of this motion, the claims against him were either filed beyond the applicable statute of limitations, lack legal sufficiency, or present both deficiencies.James C. Knox says it's a lawsuit about ‘forced kiss’James C. Knox, representing Sarabia as legal counsel, stated in his filing that concerning the claims directed at his client, “this is essentially a lawsuit about a forced kiss.”Knox contended that the complaint failed to assert that Sarabia “supplied her with drugs or alcohol, participated in any of the alleged sexual encounters described elsewhere in the complaint, or was even present for most of the conduct that forms the basis of plaintiff’s broader allegations.”Also Read: Laid-off H-1B worker faces visa uncertainty as 100 job applications yield just one interview: ‘Life cannot be worse’The attorney argued that the claims of assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress were subject to a one-year statute of limitations, and that the allegations directed at Sarabia did not meet the criteria for the extensions referenced in the complaint.Doe's legal counsel has not yet submitted a response to the motion.Sarabia's lawyers sought gag orderThe motion was filed one week following a New York judge's denial of Sarabia's attorney's request for a gag order.Knox contended that a gag order would mitigate "possible juror prejudice" and safeguard against the possible disclosure of confidential information that might result in "threats, doxing, intimidation, and extrajudicial contact."Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond called the request a "side show" designed to “muddy the waters and distract from the merits of the claims and defenses involved in this case.”New York Attorney General Letitia James, designated as special prosecutor by Governor Kathy Hochul, is leading an inquiry into the matter. Cornell has expressed full backing for the special prosecutor's appointment and is simultaneously undertaking an internal review of how it addressed the allegations.