Hey, Can A Woman "Ask To Get Raped"?

Once-prominent Twin Cities attorney gets 18 years for raping teenage boy
By Trisha Volpe
10/20/2010

MINNEAPOLIS -- A once prominent Twin Cities attorney was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 20 years behind bars.

A Hennepin County judge sentenced Aaron Biber to 18 years in prison for raping his son's 15-year-old friend.

Biber once worked for a prominent Twin Cities law firm and is the former president of the Hennepin County Bar Association. It's been a long fall to convicted sex offender.

Prosecutors wanted double the normal sentence. The defense asked for probation.

In the end, after an emotionally charged sentencing hearing, the judge sent Aaron Biber to prison for 18 years.

The 15-year-old boy who was assaulted by Aaron Biber stood in front of the judge and Biber to explain how the rape has affected him.

The boy said, "I would turn to Aaron Biber as a mentor and friend...but that mentorship came at a deep cost...I trust no one anymore."

Prosecutors say Biber groomed the boy since he was 11. The victim was the best friend of Biber's son.

Biber sent him more than a thousand sexually explicit text messages, touched him inappropriately and then last fall - on what was the boy's homecoming weekend - Biber got him drunk and raped him, prosecutors say, for four hours.

"We hope that he and his family can heal, but it's a tragedy and it is something he will carry with him the rest of his life," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman after the hearing.

Before his sentence, Biber also addressed the court. Sobbing he said, "I was in a relationship...it wasn't a relationship with equals...I have violated so many boundaries...I have so much to apologize for."

Biber's friends and family hoped for mercy, including Biber's son Joshua who said, "It's a terrible thing he's done, but he's my father and I still love him."

After the two day sentencing hearing, it took the judge an hour to tell Biber that he would spend 18 years in prison, at times giving the victim advice about healing. It is something Biber's defense attorney questions.

"I think everything the judge said was emotional and I think it was clear to everyone in the courtroom that it was emotional," said Goldberger.

Biber's defense attorney says there will be an appeal.

In Minnesota, felons serve two thirds of their sentence so Biber could be out of prison after serving 12 years of the 18 year sentence.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=877999&catid=14

Last August, Biber pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and has been behind bars ever since. A Hennepin County judge ruled that Biber assaulted the victim with particular cruelty and ordered him taken into custody.

During testimony on Tuesday, Biber showed no emotion in court as witnesses gave graphic testimony about how he targeted the boy -- his son's best friend -- since the boy was 11 years old.

On Wednesday, the boy's mother called Biber a "monster." And the victim told the judge: "The biggest tragedy is that I have lost all respect for myself. I truly feel I'm alone in this world. I don't know what a normal relationship is supposed to be like."

Biber and the boy exchanged more than 1,000 explicit text messages, including a few with photos of their genitals. Until recently, Biber claimed the boy was always the aggressor.

The victim's parents said, in an impact statement, "I had no idea Aaron Biber was a monster. ... He (Biber) is a relentless, compulsive, heartless predator."

The parents say they were completely fooled and called Biber a "slick, sociopathic imposter." They argued, "Our son is forever changed."

The victim's parents said their son who was an A student is now having trouble in school. Has lost a lot of his friends and they're worried he won't graduate.

Psychologists testified Biber, who was married until his arrest, was tormented because he is secretly gay. He is now divorced.

Testimony claims Biber used the boy's friendship with his son to get him to sleepover at his Shorewood home, where he allegedly got him drunk and had sex with him.

Dr. James Alsdurf, a psychologist, said Biber developed a "quick attraction to this boy and decided he had to have him."

In the midst of the sexual relationship with Biber, the teen tried to kill himself, and as prosecutors pointed out, even after that Biber continued to pursue the boy.

Nancy Biber, Biber's ex-wife, testified through tears begging the judge to be lenient in his sentencing on behalf of their two teenage sons.

The victim's mother released this statement following the sentence:

"Aaron Biber got exactly what he deserved today. He is a sexual predator and a child molester who forever damaged our son. He stole his childhood and shattered his life into a million pieces.

"We wish to offer our sincere sympathy to his two sons and family as they are victims in this tragedy too.

"Aaron Biber's path of distruction was wide indeed and two families crushed in this disaster are left to pick up the pieces. However, no one paid a higher price than our son.

"We pray for healing for all involved and touched by the actions of one twisted, heartless man.

We thank the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for obtaining justice for our son. We also thank our family and friends for their tireless support throughout this grueling ordeal. "
http://wcco.com/crime/aaron.biber.sentenced.2.1971791.html

UM sex assaults underreported
By Felicia Fox
Thursday, October 21st, 2010

“He pulled both mattresses onto the floor, ripped my clothes off and just had his way with me.”

This is the way an anonymous source described a sexual assault that took place on the University of Maine campus in October 2009. Unfortunately, all college students are vulnerable to potentially dangerous situations, often encountered in unexpected places. Many rape victims are attacked by someone they know and trust.

When Carey Nason, director of the University of Maine’s Safe Campus Project, was asked how many victims are assaulted on campus, she said, “It varies. We work with about 100 referrals a year.”

However, according to the 2009 Clery Safety and Security Report, there were only two forced sex offenses last year on the UMaine campus.

Sergeant Deborah Mitchell of the UMaine Police Department estimates “there are at least two sexual assaults on campus on a weekly basis.”

Mitchell said although the number of sexual assaults reported are correctly represented, the number of incidents that go unreported are far greater.

All universities are required by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, commonly referred to as the Clery Act, to have all crime statistics posted on their official site in order to keep the public safety-conscious. The Clery Act was enacted in memory of Jeanne Clery, who was sexually assaulted and murdered in her Lehigh University dorm room in 1986.
Although the number of forced and nonforced sexual offenses has declined over the last three years, this is still an issue that seems to be overlooked.

Director of University Relations Joe Carr said the Clery reports listed on the official UMaine website are the most comprehensive reports of such incidents. Director of Student Affairs David Fiacco also explained, “The variation in the numbers is generally a result of being reported to a campus security authority for statistical purposes, but may not have been referred for campus disciplinary action.”

Mitchell, who responds to many of these incidents, is not satisfied with the numbers that are represented.

After speaking with a victim of a tragedy such as this, the statistics, research, reasoning and excuses amount to nothing.

“I gave him directions to campus, what dorm I was in, my room number — he came later that day. Unexpected,” the source said.

When her attacker was done, he proceeded to fall asleep holding her in his arms with such force that she could not move.

“I was too scared to get up and leave. I didn’t know what to say and I didn’t know what to do. So I just stayed there. And he just held onto me all night,” she said.

Her attacker let himself out in the early hours of the next morning. Completely out of character, she kept distant from any social contact. She had no idea where to begin and wondered if this was her fault.

She said that as the day went on, she was forced to face the horror she had experienced the night before without knowing there was only more emotional pain to come.

“I just said to [my friends], last night was not mutual. I will never forget that exact statement,” she said.

Her first step to recovery was heading to Cutler Health Center in hopes of recovering any evidence by the use of a rape kit, but the university health facility did not have one on hand. Due to the lack of equipment and resources on campus, the victim was forced even further out of her comfort zone to be tested at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

“Getting probed and prodded, in much the same way as the night before, by someone else that you don’t know, it was horrifying,” she said.

After deeming herself strong enough to face the battle by taking the initial steps of getting medical attention, the emotional struggle set in. Many survivors never come forward, but for those who do, it is only the beginning of a long recovery.

“I didn’t fight back,” she said.

One of the most common reasons many survivors keep their attack private is guilt. Due to the fear instilled in many survivors because of embarrassment, retaliation, lost control, becoming publicly known and facing the reality of the situation, many incidents are never reported.

She truly started healing with the continued support of her friends and family.

“I can’t blame myself for his actions, but I can blame myself for giving him the opportunity,” she said. “But, there is no point in that either.

“You have got to stay strong,” she said, “or there won’t be anything left.”

The malicious details of this survivor’s story are real, and it happens more often than it seems. The Clery report statistics may seem satisfying, but the real issue at hand is the number of both forcible and nonforcible sexual assaults that go unreported on our campus. It takes an incredibly strong individual to transform one’s self from a victim to a survivor.
http://mainecampus.com/2010/10/21/um-sex-assaults-underreported/

I caught my rapist
Gutsy waitress tells jury of cellphone trick
By DON KAPLAN
October 21, 2010

A Queens waitress with nerves of steel flirted with a thug after he raped her, scoring his cell number -- which hours later led to his arrest.

In dramatic, tearful court testimony, the 21-year-old victim described how she tricked career criminal Timothy West into texting her after he allegedly raped her twice at knifepoint in March 2009.

West, 26, broke into her Ozone Park home through a kitchen window, picked up a knife, and opened the front door in case he had to make an escape, the gutsy victim said in Queens Supreme Court.

At around 1 a.m., he made his way into the woman's bedroom -- but she didn't scream because her mother and brother were asleep and she feared for their safety, she said.

"I didn't know what he was capable of," the Applebee's waitress testified.

In the post-rape pillow talk, the victim said she tried remain calm and make the assailant feel comfortable with her.

He then started confessing that he lived nearby and he showed her a large pocket knife that he had with him.

"He said, 'Maybe we could be friends,' " she said during her teary-eyed testimony.

"I hoped he would call so I could set him up with the police," she said.

West then said, "You're going to have to do it again or I'll take out my knife," she testified.

Afterwards, West demand that his victim cook for him. But when they went to the kitchen she showed him an empty refrigerator.

West then allegedly helped himself to the family's stash of alcohol and juice. He used her house phone to call his sister, then left, the victim said.

Hours later, the woman got a text that said, "Call me," from a strange number, law-enforcement sources said.

By that time police were at her house, and detectives were combing it for evidence.

She called him back to set up a date at a Dunkin' Donuts in Corona, Queens -- as police taped the entire conversation.

While on the phone, she said, West apologized for his disgusting crime.

According to her testimony, West said, "I apologize. Please don't get me into any more trouble than I'm already [in]."

She waited two hours for him at the Dunkin' Donuts. When West showed up at 10 p.m. -- the same day he raped her -- police collared him.

In court yesterday, West, dressed in a beige cable sweater and black pants, sat stone-faced and stared at his accuser.

The woman, who braved his leery gaze while testifying, finally broke down in tears during a court recess.

West's lawyer claims the alleged attack was a consensual late-night rendezvous -- although the victim said she had never seen West before.

West has a previous rap sheet for burglary and robbery.

He's now charged with predatory sexual assault, rape in the first degree, burglary in first degree, robbery, and sex abuse.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/caught_my_rapist_Ydl18YQpNhPXoRYUf8CeUJ

... you guys would made anyone look like a genie of the first level.

Man accused of assaulting airline passenger
By the CNN Wire Staff
October 21, 2010 11:59 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- A Georgia man has been indicted on charges that he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old passenger while she was asleep during a flight from Dallas, Texas, to Atlanta, Georgia, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The woman said she awoke during the September 28 Delta flight to discover Ranchhodbhai Lakha, 61, of Alpharetta, Georgia, touching her below the waist. She removed his hand and told him to stop, the federal indictment states.

Lakha responded by asking her, "Is that OK? You don't like that?" according to the complaint. The woman said no and moved her body to protect herself, but Lakha reached down and touched her again, the indictment alleges.

The woman got up and reported the assault to a flight attendant, officials said in a press release.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents indicated that there may have been other incidents involving Lakha, possibly in Alabama, the statement said.

Patrick Crosby, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Atlanta, said he did not know whether the other cases may have involved commercial flights.

Anyone who may have been victimized is asked to call the FBI in Atlanta at 404-679-9000.

Lakha is in custody and has a tentative initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate on October 25, Crosby said. He has not entered a plea.

A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.

"Sexual assault is a crime wherever it happens, including airplanes," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in the statement. "Many passengers let their guard down or even fall asleep in the closed, often crowded environment of an airplane, which makes this kind of sexual assault so deplorable."

The indictment charges one count of assault, two counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of attempt to engage in a sexual act with someone who is physically incapable of declining participation or communicating unwillingness to engage in a sexual act. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, officials said.