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← Signal: State & Power

Syracuse University Blocks Rape Victim's Access to Police Records From 1987 Attack

Confirmed1 source · Aug 28, 2026

The university successfully intervened in a lawsuit to prevent disclosure of decades-old crime records that a survivor sought to support her negligence claim.

Syracuse University Blocks Rape Victim's Access to Police Records From 1987 Attack
Image via ProPublica

What happened

A woman attacked in a Syracuse University music building on Feb. 27, 1987 filed suit under New York's Adult Survivors Act, seeking police records from 1982-1987 to establish that the university knew of escalating crime near campus but failed to increase security. After Syracuse Police initially agreed to provide the records within a mutually agreed-upon ZIP code, university lawyers filed a motion to block the disclosure, arguing the subpoena was overbroad and burdensome. In February 2025, state court Judge Joseph Lamendola ruled in the university's favor, dramatically limiting the records the victim could obtain. The police department then reversed its earlier position and joined the university's motion, estimating compliance would require 845 hours and $50,000 in staff time. The victim's attorneys appealed the ruling to a state appellate court in June.

Context

The case reflects a pattern ProPublica documented involving sexual assaults on and around Syracuse's campus in the 1980s—more than a dozen women reported being raped or attacked by strangers over four years in a half-square-mile area. Police reports from that era were marked "NO PRESS," and a former detective testified the university had used its influence to suppress rape coverage. The widespread assault crisis eventually drew national attention, student protests, and contributed to federal legislation requiring universities to report crime statistics. The victim's claim centers on whether the university was negligent in failing to enhance security despite evidence of dangerous conditions. The university's legal intervention to block access to historical crime data appears to contradict its stated commitment to supporting survivors, according to the victim's attorney, who characterized it as echoing the suppression tactics of the 1980s.