25
   

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

 
 
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 10:48 am
Quote:
$3 million settlement for rape victim at Eastern State Hospital
By KOMO Staff
Feb 9, 2012

SEATTLE - A developmentally disabled woman who was raped by another patient at Eastern State Hospital in January 2008 will receive a $3 million settlement from the state Department of Social and Health Services.

The settlement was approved Thursday by the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington, says the law firm that represented the rape victim.

The law firm - Hagens, Berman, Sobol, Shapiro in Seattle - says the $3 million settlement is the largest amount ever paid as a result of patient abuse at Eastern State Hospital, which is governed by DSHS through its Mental Health Division.

By agreeing to pay, DSHS avoids a public trial involving claims that its former CEO Hal Wilson and a staff psychiatrist, Dr. Leslie Blake, violated the civil rights of the disabled patient who was raped.

The victim's attorney say Wilson and Blake had allowed another patient with a history of violence and criminal activity to roam free on hospital grounds immediately prior to the rape, despite warnings from other staff that he was a risk to other patients and staff.

The attorney, David P. Moody, said, he is pleased for his client and thankful that she had the tenacity to "stand up to DSHS."
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/3-million-award-for-woman-raped-at-Eastern-State-Hospital-139052194.html

Hopefully, the monetary award will be used to place the woman in a facility where her safety can be better insured if she requires long-term hospitalization.
0 Replies
 
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 11:02 am
Quote:
February 10, 2012
Chicago suburb sued by rape victim
Wendell Hutson

A 25-year-old black woman filed suit Feb. 7 in Cook County circuit court against south suburban Harvey for mishandling a rape kit that allowed her rapist to go uncharged for 14 years.

“After being failed at home, this young woman should have been able to trust that local police would follow through with their most basic levels of investigation,” said Yao Dinizulu, an attorney representing the female victim named in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. “The abuse could have ended there had police done their jobs. There is a pattern of gross negligence in the city of Harvey that has led to the suffering of countless other victims. We’re asking a jury to send a strong message that such egregious malfeasance won’t be tolerated.”

Harvey has a population of 24,659 whose residents are majority black, according to census data.

The suit seeks an unspecified monetary award but does specifically accuse Harvey officials of failing to protect her rights under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986; infliction of emotional distress; willful and wanton neglect; and fraudulent concealment.

After what Dinizulu described as “countless molestation” against Jane Doe, she remained living in the home with the alleged offender Robert Buchanan, who is her stepfather.

“This is another example of how the system failed her. Protocol is for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to remove the offender or the minor victim from the home until the matter is resolved,” Dinizulu added. “But DCFS confirmed that they do not have a file for my client, which means they were never notified about it.”

It would not be until 2004 when Jane Doe turned 18 that she moved out of the home.

Richard Calica, who was appointed in November by Governor Pat Quinn as director of the DCFS, did not return calls by Crusader press time. At press time, Buchanan, 45, could not be reached for comment.

In August 1997 at age 11 when the allege molestation began, Jane Doe said she told her mother about the assaults by Buchanan, also named in the lawsuit as a defendant.

Her mother then took her to a hospital where a rape exam was performed and DNA evidence was gathered. The hospital sent the rape kit to the Harvey Police Department as standard protocol, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

However, the rape kit along with 200 more was never sent to the state crime lab for further analysis so Buchanan, while questioned by police, was never charged. At the time Buchanan was a correctional officer at Cook County Jail.

It was not until 2007, when a raid on the Harvey Police Department by the state’s attorney office, that the rape kit was discovered. And as part of the investigation, the state’s attorney office obtained a DNA sample from Buchanan to compare with the DNA originally obtained in the rape kit in 1997. Finally on Sept. 12, 2011, the state crime lab notified the state’s attorney office of a match.

Buchanan was charged in September with predatory criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony and punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Harvey police officials said the allegation brought to them was properly investigated to the best of their ability.

“Based on information we have been able to review with respect what occurred in 1997, we believe the Harvey Police Department diligently investigated this criminal sexual assault. Unfortunately at that time, criminal charges could not be sustained against any particular individual for this horrific crime,” said Sandra Alvarado, a spokeswoman for Acting Harvey Police Chief Denard Eaves. “Harvey investigators, however, never abandoned this matter. Last year, taking advantage of technology which did not exist in 1997, investigators from the Harvey Police Department working with investigators of the state’s attorney office were finally able to bring charges against Robert Buchanan for the criminal sexual assault of his stepdaughter.”

But Alvardo also pointed out that the alleged incident occurred prior to Eaves being appointed acting police chief.

“This case from 1997 predates this administration and it is regrettable that the victim was unable to have her assailant brought to justice due to circumstances that were beyond the control of the Harvey Police Department,” she explained. “The Harvey Police Department takes every crime seriously and is grateful to its steadfast investigators and help given by the Illinois State Police to, hopefully, bring some degree of closure to the victim and her family.”

Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg was unavailable for comment.

Jane Doe said she is now going public because she wants to encourage other rape victims to come forward and not be ashamed or afraid and she also wants closure in her life.

“I am at a point in my life where I am not scared,” she told Examiner.com in a phone interview. “I hope to gain closure with this lawsuit because I have had to deal with a lot since this occurred. I know what was done to me was not right. God has told me so.”
http://www.examiner.com/city-hall-in-chicago/chicago-suburb-sued-by-rape-victim
.

It is good that this woman has finally seen justice done in her case so that she can move on with her life. It is also good that rape victims use the recourse of civil courts to address past and present problems in the system.
0 Replies
 
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 11:26 am
Quote:
Denise's story: Rape victim's case leads to proposed court rules changes
Dana Rebik
February 9, 2012

SEATTLE— In November 2010, high above downtown Seattle, a young rape victim nearly jumped to her death. Denise was one of seven victims set to testify against a man who sexually abused them as children.

What terrified this 22-year-old to the edge of suicide was that the man, Salvador Cruz, was acting as his own attorney and was allowed to question and directly confront his victims on the witness stand in court.

“I was pretty much just really scared to go into that courtroom and see him again. I was afraid of the situation and all the memories coming back,” said Denise, who asked that her last name not be used.

To avoid having to be questioned by her rapist, Denise found her way to the roof of the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle and got onto a ledge. For hours, people below didn’t know if the distraught woman would jump or not.

Denise did come off the ledge.

And in January 2011, Cruz was convicted of rape and sentenced to 53 years in prison.

Last year, state Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, drafted a bill directing the state Supreme Court to better protect sexual assault victims in cases where their accused attackers are representing themselves.

“What happened at the courthouse really woke us up in the Legislature and the judiciary,” Goodman said.

Last November, the state Supreme Court unveiled new rules allowing judges to use closed-circuit TV to conduct trials like this, review a defendant's questions in writing beforehand and to have a third party question those witnesses. But this could only occur if the defendant agreed to it.

“What person is going to say ‘Oh sure, you can ask questions for me?’” Goodman asked. “They’re there to be in control.”

Denise agrees.

“They (abusers) wouldn’t do anything to help or make the victims feel less vulnerable. They know that makes it harder for us,” she said.

Victims like Denise are disappointed in the proposed changes, but judges say there is only so much they can do.

“It’s very clear in the state and U.S. Constitution that forcing someone … saying we’re going to make you take an attorney, is contrary to law,” Cowlitz County Judge Stephen Warning said.

King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North, who sat on the Cruz trial, admits it wasn't easy.

“It was heartrending to me to have to listen to them be cross-examined in that fashion. The problem is the U.S. Constitution is interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court … says when someone represents themselves, they are entitled to a full cross-examination and (allowed to) confront the witnesses against them,” North said.

Yet victims say they feel the balance is way off and want those sitting behind the bench to put themselves in their place.

“They’re not the ones who have to cope with the situation all over again. They’re not the ones who have to cry at night or be afraid,” Denise said. “It’s like torturing to the victim, to have to see the person who hurt them all over again.”

The state Supreme Court is taking public comment on the proposed rule changes until April 30. If you would like to send your thoughts, you can mail a letter to: Washington State Supreme Court, P.O. Box 40929, Olympia, WA 98504-0929. You can also email: Camilla.Faulk@courts.wa.gov
http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-rape-victim-denises-case-leads-to-proposed-court-rules-changes-20120209,0,4908830.story

The proposed rule changes would better address the emotional trauma for victim witnesses in cases where the defendant represents himself, if the defendant would even agree to them.
Some remedy for this sort of situation is necessary, and not just in rape cases. I remember watching the trial of Colin Ferguson, the Long Island Railroad shooter who represented himself. It was painful to watch the ordeal of his shooting victims being cross-examined by him.
Certainly, the Constitutional rights of defendants must be protected, but any remedy that does not violate those rights deserves careful consideration.
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:16 pm
@firefly,
There is a little matter of the damn constitution that allow you to confront your accusers but what the hell we do not care about the constitution now do we Firefly when it come to men accuse of sex crimes at least.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:21 pm
@BillRM,
Quote:
There is a little matter of the damn constitution that allow you to confront your accusers but what the hell we do not care about the constitution now do we Firefly when it come to men accuse of sex crimes at least.

If you can't read and understand what's been posted, don't bother commenting on it.
You are obviously too illiterate and stupid to understand what I said...
Quote:
Certainly, the Constitutional rights of defendants must be protected, but any remedy that does not violate those rights deserves careful consideration.
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:24 pm
@firefly,
Damn right her name and face should now be out there in the public if for no other reason then for the protections of men she may approach on the streets in the future as she did with Mr. Kelly.

There is not a reason in the world to not have her name out there when her innocent victim name had been drag through the mud by her.
0 Replies
 
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:28 pm
@firefly,
Right about it not being un- constitution and I have a New York bridge to sell you for the sum of one dollar.

If pass it will be declare un-constitution on it face by the first court to hear the matter.

The only purpose of voting for this law is for the lawmakers to show how must they care about women even the ones who wish to take abortion rights away.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:42 pm
@BillRM,
You don't understand what you read. You are too illiterate to be on a Web site that requires the ability to read, and to comprehend, not to mention the ability to write in coherent English.
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:48 pm
@firefly,
Would you care to bet that such a law will not be declare unconstitution on first court hearing Firefly?

It is design to interfere in a serous manner with a defender rights to confront his accuser when acting as his own lawyer.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 02:52 pm
@BillRM,
What law? You are talking about a non-existent law. You really don't understand what you read.
Quote:
Last November, the state Supreme Court unveiled new rules allowing judges to use closed-circuit TV to conduct trials like this, review a defendant's questions in writing beforehand and to have a third party question those witnesses. But this could only occur if the defendant agreed to it.

Try sobering up. Drunk it might improve your comprehension skills.

BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 05:39 pm
@firefly,
Quote:
What law? You are talking about a non-existent law. You really don't understand what you read.


You are an idiot............but I love you anyway Firefly.

Here are the words from your own posting too bad you can not understand two separate issues that are similar but address the same issue and both running into the limits of the evil constitution.

Last year, state Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, drafted a bill directing the state Supreme Court to better protect sexual assault victims in cases where their accused attackers are representing themselves.

Last November, the state Supreme Court unveiled new rules allowing judges to use closed-circuit TV to conduct trials like this, review a defendant's questions in writing beforehand and to have a third party question those witnesses. But this could only occur if the defendant agreed to it.

The problem is the U.S. Constitution is interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court … says when someone represents themselves, they are entitled to a full cross-examination and (allowed to) confront the witnesses against them,” North said.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 07:43 pm
@BillRM,
Right, a bill was drafted requesting that the Supreme Court of the state of Washington address the issue of victim-witnesses. And the Supreme Court responded and came up with new rules.

Nowhere is a law involved--and you've been ranting about a law.

Using closed-circuit TV for cross-examination would satisfy the right of the accused to confront witnesses. And it would spare victim-witnesses from having to actually be in the same room with the defendant when he cross-examined them--given the fact the defendant might have tried to murder the witness, or raped the witness, or tortured the witness, or killed a loved one in the presence of the witness.
This situation, where it is extremely traumatic for the witness to be cross-examined by the person who actually inflicted significant harm on them, is really not unique to sexual assault cases, which is why I mentioned the trial of Colin Ferguson, but the situation in Washington was in response to what occurred during a sexual assault trial.

They need to find a remedy that will spare a victim-witness undo emotional trauma and that does not violate the defendant's Constitution rights.

The state Supreme Court of Washington understands the Constitution far better than you do, and they are searching for some solution that takes into account the interests, needs, and rights, of all parties. And I commend them for what they are trying to do.

BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 09:11 pm
@firefly,
Quote:
They need to find a remedy that will spare a victim-witness undo emotional trauma and that does not violate the defendant's Constitution rights


It can not be done under the constitutions rights of a defendant and there is no victims and no guilty party until a person is found guilty by a jury.

A lawmaker submitted a bill IE a propose law that would had illegally order the state supreme court to break the US constitution not ask it to. If it had been pass it would had been declare at once unconstitutional.

The court on it own under pressure is in the process of putting in place meaningless new rules as a defendant any defendant can simply not agree to those rules and there is zero meaning to them even if they are pass.

The constitution just will not allow what you and people like you would like to see as a defendant have the right to act as his own lawyer and confr0nt his accusers no matter what crimes he is charge with.


firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 10:29 pm
@BillRM,
Quote:
A lawmaker submitted a bill IE a propose law that would had illegally order the state supreme court to break the US constitution not ask it to

No, he did not propose such a law, nor did he propose any law in fact. You don't understand what you read. Try sobering up Drunk it might help.
Quote:
there is no victims and no guilty party until a person is found guilty by a jury.

There most certainly are victims. The purpose of the trial is decide whether the defendant is guilty or not. The jury makes no decisions regarding the victim.

You mean that because O.J. Simpson was found not guilty that Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman weren't murder victims? Are you completely nuts?

And the witness-victims that Colin Ferguson cross-examined were most definitely victims of a shooting.

And the state Supreme Court of Washington can interpret the U.S. Constitution without your help. So can I.

You are so stupid it's pitiful.







firefly
 
  1  
Reply Fri 10 Feb, 2012 10:38 pm
Quote:
Clitheroe Rape Victim, 13, Abused on Facebook by Rapist's Friends
February 9, 2012

A devastated family was subjected to a torrent of abuse after their 13-year-old daughter reported that she had been raped by a known sexual predator.

The girl, from Clitheroe, Lancashire, was found naked from the waist down in an alleyway. She said she had been raped by a 15-year-old boy who was on bail for assaulting a 14-year-old girl

Her parents had been looking for her when the assault happened. They called her on her mobile phone and when she answered they could hear her scream "Stop it", along with voices saying: "Pick up the knickers."

After an allegation of rape was made to police, a Facebook page was set up by friends of the suspect proclaiming his innocence. It was followed by months of abuse and threats against the family and claims that the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had lied.

The judge at the trial of the 15-year-old defendant heard that her parents were told that their house would be burned down unless she withdrew her claim.

Stones and eggs were thrown at the windows of their home and members of the family were threatened with physical violence.

Former friends of the girl accused her of being a "lying little skank" and she had to be escorted by her mother whenever she left the house.

The rapist was jailed for 31 months at Preston crown court, where the girl's parents revealed the extent their ordeal.

Her mother, a lecturer said: "Shame on them for doing this to such a young girl and to our family.

"We hadn't done anything wrong, yet there was this Facebook group and our home was being attacked with missiles. Our daughter even started to believe that some of the abuse about her was true.

"It has been an incredibly distressing experience, particularly because these people lived in our very close-knit community."

The father, a mechanic, added: "She stopped going out and she is still terrified to leave the house. Even when my wife was walking the dogs she was getting pestered and it was not just by youngsters, it was adults too."

Judge Norman Wright told the court that the abuse represented "a snapshot of how a part of society could behave".

Passing sentence, the judge told the defendant, who cannot be named because of his age: "Others jumped on the bandwagon and treated her in a way that no victim of rape should be treated."

A 13-year-old girl apologised to the family for abusing the girl's mother in the street and a 15-year-old boy who had threatened to burn the house down also said he was sorry.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/295740/20120209/clitheroe-girl-13-abused-facebook-reporting-rape.htm
0 Replies
 
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Feb, 2012 04:33 am
@firefly,
Quote:
And the state Supreme Court of Washington can interpret the U.S. Constitution without your help



One more the court seems fully aware by your posting own words that they do not have the power to break the constitution so that is why a defendant can veto by your posted article any such rules.

Kinds of a silly game playing setting rules that can only be enforce with the agreement of the defendant to say the least.

As far as the lawmaker not purposing a law, submitting a bill, to force the court to change the rules that is what your own posting claims to had happen and anyone can real it on this thread.

Your information may be wrong but it is you postings and your information not mine and that what the posted article of your clearly stated for all to read.
0 Replies
 
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Feb, 2012 01:06 pm
Quote:
Probation in rave rape case called 'a slap on the wrist'
By: ctvbc.ca
Friday Feb. 10, 2012

A teenager who shared graphic images of an alleged rape at a Pitt Meadows rave has been sentenced to 12 months' probation, a punishment the victim's family calls "disappointing."

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be identified because of his age, pleaded guilty in Port Coquitlam provincial court last December to one charge of distributing obscene material.

During a sentencing hearing Friday, the teen told the court that he took the photos because he got caught up in the moment and didn't think his friends would believe what he'd seen. He said he didn't expect the pictures to end up online.

However, Judge Pedro de Couto pointed out that the young offender hadn't discouraged any of his friends from posting the images on social networking sites. The judge said that while he believed the teen was remorseful, his actions have had a huge effect on the victim.

In a victim impact statement read for the court, the teen girl wrote that she has lost friends and suffers from panic attacks.

"I feel I cannot leave my home and go out because I believe people are staring at me," she said. "I feel like I am living in fear and hiding from the world."

The young offender's probation sentence also stipulates that he write a 1,500-word essay on the potential impacts of social media, as well as an apology letter to the victim. The youth is forbidden from having any contact with the victim, must abstain from alcohol and drugs and has to allow checks on his computer to verify that he has not been accessing pornography.

The victim's father told reporters outside the court that the sentence is a "slap on the wrist" and brushed off the essay as "a joke."

"Clearly, my family, my daughter live with this turmoil every single day, and it still goes on," he said.

"Out of all the charges laid, this is the most damaging as far as we're concerned. It did not allow my daughter the privacy and the time to heal."

He said he'd like to see a review of the Young Offenders Act, with a particular focus on crimes committed through social media.

Mounties say that the 16-year-old victim was raped at a rave called "Another Night in Bangkok" in rural Pitt Meadows while partygoers watched and took photos in September 2010. The pictures were shared on Facebook and by cell phone.

Investigators believe as many as 12 people watched the assault, but have said a "code of silence" amongst witnesses at the party stymied their work.

Only two other young adults, Colton Ashton McMorris and Dennis John Allen Warrington, are facing charges in connection with the rave. McMorris has been charged with sexual assault while Warrington is also accused of making and distributing child pornography.

More than a year ago, police said they believed at least one more man had sexually assaulted the young victim, but no other suspects have been charged to date.

After news of the alleged rape went public, the victim became the target of name-calling and tasteless comments on a Facebook group devoted to casting doubt on her story. The victim's parents said she was tormented at school and felt obliged to take most of her classes online.

A handful of fellow students at her high school eventually relented and wrote letters apologizing for their behaviour.

The girl's father says she lost virtually an entire year of school because of the ordeal and is now taking night classes in an effort to graduate with her friends.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120210/bc_rave_sentence_120210/20120210/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome


BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Feb, 2012 02:19 pm
@firefly,
Yes it is shocking that the teenager is not being put in prison for five years or more and label a sexual pervert for the rest of his life as would had likely had happen in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
firefly
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Feb, 2012 03:10 pm
@BillRM,
No, what is shocking is that people witness a gang rape and stand there photographing it rather than trying to intervene to stop a crime. And then for some to post these photos on the internet, to heap more pain and humiliation on the victim, reflects a degree of insensitivity that is horrifying.
Quote:

Op-Ed: Why help victims when you can film them?
By Arthur Weinreb
Feb 11, 2012

While cell phones were once used to call 911 to report a crime or an accident, it is now popular to simply stand around and film what is happening so it can be posted on the Internet and shown to the world.

According to the RCMP, the 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a rave in Pitt Meadows, B.C. in September 2010.

A 17-year-old youth, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act was later charged with making and distributing child pornography and distributing obscene material. He had simply stood by and took pictures of the alleged rape.

Last December, he pleaded guilty to the charge of distributing obscene material and the more serious child pornography charges were withdrawn by prosecutors. Yesterday, he was sentenced to one year's probation with terms that he write a 1,500 word essay about the impact of social media, write a letter of apology to the victim, and be subject to random checks of his computer by authorities.

It was never alleged that the youth put any of the pictures he had taken onto the Internet; rather he sent them to friends so they would believe he saw what he said he saw. Others uploaded the girl being sexually assaulted onto social media sites.

According to the Toronto Star, there is a culture of silence at raves that dictates not telling authorities about anything that happens. It is one thing to watch a crime being committed and do nothing; it is quite another to take pictures of video of that crime and then post it online where anyone and everyone can see exactly what happened.

As reported by CTV News, the girl wrote in her victim impact statement,
I feel I cannot leave my home and go out because I believe people are staring at me. I feel like I'm living in fear and hiding from the world.

Her father, who said she lost almost a full year of school, told CTV News,
Out of all the charges laid, my daughter lives with the turmoil every single day, and it still goes on.

Although the names of victims are never publicly released, those who live near them or go to the same school always find out who they are. But knowing what happened in general terms is a lot different than being able to see what exactly happened. While the sexual assault was obviously traumatic to this young girl, it appears to pale in comparison to the pictures of what happened to her being circulated online.

This is far from an isolated case of filming a victim rather than offering assistance. Last Monday, a crash occurred in rural Ontario between a 15-passenger van and a transport truck. According to police, the van went through a stop sign and slammed into the truck. In what has been referred to as the worst crash in the province in recent memory, 11 were killed and three injured. Most of the dead and injured were migrant workers from Peru.

Rick Stewart, a part time truck driver, was first on the scene. He told the National Post he called 911 and tried to help the injured before paramedics arrived. Others stopped at the scene but no one tried to help Stewart or the victims. They just stood around taking pictures and videos with their cell phones. As Stewart pointed out, they could hardly have been in shock since they were able to take their cameras out and stand around shooting.

Unlike the media that covered the aftermath of the accident, there is always a danger that a family member will see a close-up of their deceased love one that will substantially add to the trauma they are enduring.

It is a sad commentary that some people think posting pictures or videos on YouTube or social media sites is more important than helping crime or accident victims.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/319444#ixzz1m6r2jryb


And, if you believe that the gang rape of a drunk and possibly drugged girl, taking place publicly, in the full view of others, could possibly reflect a rational consensual sexual act, you are out of your damn mind. These people witnessed and photographed a sexual assault and posted photos of it online to further humiliate and cause pain to this girl. It is inexcusable behavior by any standard of decency.
BillRM
 
  1  
Reply Sat 11 Feb, 2012 03:31 pm
@firefly,
Quote:
No, what is shocking is that people witness a gang rape and stand there photographing it rather than trying to intervene to stop a crime


Not proven in any court that there was a gang rape or any other kind of rape for that matter.

Rape sometimes occur after boyfriends. husbands and in this case a father find out about the event.

It would seems that rightly or wrongly a great numbers of her peers do not happen to believe that a gang rape had occur in her case including people who had seem the video.

Talk to me about no one having stop a rape when a jury had found that a rape had occur in the first place and not similar to the below "gang rape."

-------------------------------------------------------------

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Hofstra University freshman who had claimed she was raped by five men in a dormitory bathroom changed her story after prosecutors confronted her with the revelation that a video of the encounter may have been recorded, a prosecutor said Thursday.

The recantation on Wednesday night led to the immediate release of four men, including one student at the Long Island college, who had been arrested on rape and other charges. Police had been seeking to arrest a fifth man when the charges were dropped.

The sex did occur in a bathroom but was consensual, a prosecutor said. Authorities could decide within weeks whether to charge the 18-year-old woman for making up the story.

The woman was identified as Danmell Ndonye of Manhattan by a law enforcement official with firsthand knowledge who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the name. A call to a Manhattan phone listing for a Ndonye was returned by a woman saying it was a wrong number.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Thursday that the woman, whom she would not identify, was interviewed Wednesday night by two senior prosecutors as a routine part of a follow-up investigation.

The woman first told police she was lured to the dormitory and raped early Sunday after her cell phone was stolen by a man she had met at a dance party, Rice said. She said she was bound with rope while the five men took turns sexually assaulting her in a men's bathroom stall.

Almost immediately, Rice said, the woman's story began to unravel with "significant inconsistencies," but she declined to elaborate. "The turning point was when she was confronted with the fact that there may exist a video of some or all of the incident," Rice said.

"Her actions and demeanor depict a very troubled young woman in need of much help," the prosecutor said.

An attorney for one of the accused men, 20-year-old Kevin Taveras, said he was shown a copy of the cell phone video and said it confirmed reports that the woman was not attacked.


"It looks more like a porn movie," Victor Daly-Rivera said. "It showed just the opposite of what the allegations were. There was no tying up, there was no bruising, there was no screaming."

Ndonye has been suspended from school until a disciplinary hearing is held, a Hofstra spokeswoman said. Melissa Connolly also said a suspension against Rondell Bedward – the only Hofstra student among the five men implicated – had been lifted.

Two of the men who were released said outside the Nassau County jail on Wednesday night that said they had feared the possibility of serving 25 years to life for a felony rape conviction.

"It's crazy; the system is supposed to prevent these things from happening," Taveras said outside the jail late Wednesday.

"It's supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent," he said. "Inside I thought I was going to do a bit for something I didn't do."

Bedward, 21, declined to comment after he was released.

On campus, students shook their heads at the latest twist in the case.

"It's definitely a shock," said Megan Michler, a junior from Penargyl, Pa. "I guess she completely lied about it and it's not fair to the guys that were involved. Everyone was shaken up by the whole thing, and now we were shaken up for nothing."

Hofstra, a private university of 12,600 students, played host to the final presidential debate of the 2008 election.

The rape report "just really gave the university a bad name," said Dani Frank, a print journalism major from Easton, Conn. "I really wish there hadn't been conclusions jumped to because it put the boys in a negative light, it put Hofstra in a negative light, and people will give her a lot less credibility in the future."

 

Related Topics

 
Copyright © 2025 MadLab, LLC :: Terms of Service :: Privacy Policy :: Page generated in 0.08 seconds on 05/12/2025 at 03:38:14