Syracuse University’s Fight Over 1980s Assault Records

Former Manhattan prosecutor Andrew Stengel represents a survivor identified in filings as Jane Doe, who was attacked with a knife in the university’s music building in February 1987. Doe sued Syracuse University under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily lifts the statute of limitations for historic sexual-assault claims. After the Syracuse Police Department agreed to provide archival police reports, the university moved to block most of the records, arguing the subpoena was “overbroad” and “unreasonably burdensome.”

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State-court Judge Joseph Lamendola ruled in February that the university’s motion should be granted, limiting disclosure to incidents that occurred inside university buildings and excluding reports from the surrounding Thornden Park area and nearby student housing. The decision also required the university to assist the police in identifying which records pertained to campus property. Doe’s attorneys appealed the ruling in June, sending the matter to the state appellate court.

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The 1980s saw a surge of sexual assaults in and around Syracuse University. ProPublica’s earlier investigation linked more than a dozen rapes and attacks to a half-square-mile zone that included Thornden Park, prompting student protests, national media coverage, and federal legislation mandating campus crime reporting. Police reports from the era were sometimes marked “NO PRESS,” a practice former detectives say resulted from university pressure on the department to suppress coverage of rape, robbery, and burglary near campus.

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• February (year unspecified) – Judge Lamendola limits subpoena scope.

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• June – Doe’s attorneys file an appellate brief challenging the limitation.

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• August 2025 – Stengel and the police department agree to focus the record search on the university’s ZIP code.

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• One month later – The university files a motion to “partially quash” the subpoena.

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• February (following year) – Police department estimates the request would require 845 hours and $50,000 in staff time.

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• Late June – Doe’s team submits a 37-page appellate brief arguing the gatekeeping provision creates a conflict of interest.

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• March 2025 – Former suspect Michael McKinney is arrested for a separate 2025 rape; he is later indicted in June 2026.

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• Police department’s February brief projected 845 hours of staff work and $50,000 in costs to locate and produce the requested records.

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• The university’s motion seeks to exclude all rapes that occurred in Thornden Park or nearby student apartments from disclosure.

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• A Syracuse Police Department spokesperson declined comment on the ongoing litigation.

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• John Powers, attorney for the university, argued that complying with the subpoena would impose an “incredibly burdensome” workload on city staff already inundated with Freedom-of-Information requests.

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• “It smacks of the 1980s when SU quashed media coverage of sexual assault. It’s that all over again,” — Andrew Stengel

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The appellate court will consider the university’s response in the coming weeks. If the appeal succeeds, the limited disclosure order will remain; if it fails, broader police records—including those from Thornden Park and nearby housing—may become available to Doe’s legal team. The outcome could also affect the university’s attempt to shift financial responsibility to Michael McKinney through a third-party civil complaint.

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