What We Uncovered About the Sexual Assault of Alice Sebold and a City’s Buried Rape Crisis by ProPublica July 14, 2026, 5:00 am

What We Uncovered About the Sexual Assault of Alice Sebold and a City’s Buried Rape Crisis ProPublica spent years investigating the attack on the bestselling author and the wrongly convicted man who lost decades of his life. Here’s what we learned about the failures in the justice system — and the consequences still being felt today. by ProPublica July 14, 2026, 5:00 am https://www.propublica.org/article/sebold-rape-syracuse-investigation-findings-documentary?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=secondary What We Uncovered About the Sexual Assault of Alice Sebold and a City’s Buried Rape Crisis Alice Sebold was brutally raped on the day she completed her freshman year at Syracuse University in 1981. Anthony Broadwater was later convicted of the assault — and spent 16 years in prison. But 40 years after the assault, a court vacated Broadwater’s conviction after the Syracuse district attorney joined a motion to clear him, saying in court that Broadwater should never have been prosecuted. The exoneration made headlines. But we wondered how many other victims in Syracuse had been left behind — and what else the police might have missed. What we discovered: No part of the system in Syracuse at the time could be depended on. Police brushed off rapes. Prosecutors bungled confessions. Judges overlooked irregularities. And Syracuse University seemed more interested in suppressing news of a rape epidemic than solving it. A spokesperson for Syracuse University said they could not speak to the actions of prior administrations but added the university is now equipped with “comprehensive policies, a steadfast commitment to preventing sexual and relationship violence and robust support structures to help every survivor that comes forward.”