Review Ordered Over Rape Case Dismissed For Tardy Prosecutor

An Ohio child rape case which was dismissed over a year ago by Judge Eileen Gallagher because Assistant County Prosecutor Mark Schneider was 45 minutes late will be reviewed by an Ohio appeals court thanks to an Ohio Supreme Court ruling yesterday.

The defendant, Norman Allen Craig was charged with raping a 10-year-old neighbor. The tardy prosecutor was apparently seeking to have the judge remove herself from the case which makes her ruling doubly suspect since it seemed to give her the excuse she was looking for.

Rep Klaudt's Excuses For Why His Sexual Immorality Is Legal

This Rapid City Journal article contains so many defense cliches that they should be seen as nothing more than the rationalizations of a criminal. Unfortunately, too many members of the public also cling to these same rationalizations.

Former [South Dakota] state Rep. Ted Klaudt was wrong to trick two foster daughters into thinking he could help them make money by selling their reproductive eggs, but his purported medical examinations did not amount to rape, Klaudt's defense lawyer said Tuesday.

The girls allowed Klaudt to conduct the exams and touch them, defense lawyer Tim Rensch told jurors in his opening statement in a trial expected to last more than a week. "This was not the product of force. This was not the product of coercion," Rensch said. "It's something that was immoral and wrong, but it was not forcible rape."

In other words, what Klaudt did was horrific, but because he used his position as a foster father to gain the girl's cooperation, he should be viewed as a law-abiding man who just had a lapse in judgment.

Uh-huh.

The so-called proof that this wasn't forcible rape was the lack of physical resistance from the girls. He wants us to blame this man's foster children for not physically attacking Klaudt in self defense even if doing so could have resulted in criminal charges being made against them. After all who wouldn't have immediately believed their reason for being hostile toward their upstanding foster father?

When the defense attorney admits that Klaudt tricked the girls that is an admission of coercion.

What this defense attorney is hoping for is that the jury will refuse to accept reality because they will only accept coercion for what it is in sex crimes when it includes a direct threat of bodily harm. "Let me do this or I'll kill you."

Confession In Neighborhood Rape Case Admissable

In this case from Cincinnati, Ohio, a man is accused of attacking the daughters of his friends using a stun gun and chloroform.

Chien Tai Wu, 50, initially denied raping the young women when questioned by police on July 24, saying "Prove it" when detectives outlined details of the crimes, Hamilton County sheriff's Detective Bryan Pitchford said at a hearing Friday. But Wu, a computer specialist, crumbled when officers revealed that they found a clear liquid chemical and a stun gun in his desk.

For me the "prove it" is an arrogant admission of guilt and a clear show of disrespect for the law.

Selective Withholding of Judgment In Sex Crime Cases

From a Digg summary of a story about the Copperfield investigation:

is there anybody in our government that can keep a secret? also it seems that the news media has a desire to highlight sex crimes! Why not wait and see if charges are filed instead of trying to destroy people before any actual facts come out

From reading other summaries by ReverendJon it doesn't appear that he feels the same way about those trying to destroy people before the actual facts are out when those people are the alleged victims. He has clearly passed early judgment on one student when he wrote this after the arrest of a teacher, "I think that when the "child" is acting this way it is very hard to call them a victim ..."

This man's inconsistency on waiting is by no means unique. Many people who proclaim the need to wait don't follow their own advice.

It's Not A Stolen-Baby Case When A Pregnant Woman Is Brutally Murdered

This headline: Jury: Execution in Stolen-Baby Case bothers me because it makes the victim of Lisa Montgomery a kidnapped baby when the main victim was Bobbie Jo Stinnett who was kidnapped and murdered.

Are Hospital Patients By Default Considered Consenting?

Craig Bjorklund of Anoka was charged with raping a female patient in a bathroom in Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota but the prosecutors have dropped the charges against him despite the fact that there is DNA evidence and an admission from the owner of the DNA that he did have sexual contact with the woman.

The description the woman gave of being in a haze after taking Ambien and having the unreal sensation of being sexually assaulted, doesn't match the man's implication that she was fully consenting. There is a major difference between the unreal sensation of rape and the unreal sensation that you are actively have sex.

Too often de facto legal consent becomes anything that doesn't involve screaming and scratching. Yet many hospital patients are, at least at times, in states of consciousness where they are unable to perceive danger and unable to scream and scratch or otherwise declare their lack of consent.

From the Post Bulletin coverage of the case:

"If you're at a bar and you see a person passed out, you know that they've been drinking," Cramer-Bornemann said. "All these visual cues are there to tell you ... 'I cannot be involved with that individual.'

"In this particular case, Craig came across this woman and did not necessarily have all the visual cues that this was a vulnerable woman with whom he should not have any type of significant interaction."

Hello! The alleged victim was a patient in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. Shouldn't that be a visual cue there to tell you ... "I cannot be involved with that individual."?

I understand how difficult certain cases are to prove considering the number of people who assume that consent is a woman's default condition, but this is ridiculous. The only way I could agree that this is the right move is if the defense is claiming that his client was also impaired and has evidence to support that claim.

If that's so then the hospital needs to review it's procedures to protect vulnerable patients from the possibility of sexual contact.

Adults Having Sex With Girl 13 Is Abuse Not Promiscuity

Bad solution to sexual abuse of child is legal, at least according to one jury.

A woman who had her 13-year-old daughter's genitalia pierced to make it uncomfortable for her to have sex was acquitted of aggravated child abuse on Thursday. [...] Prosecutors said the mother called on a friend to shave the girl's head and do the piercing after realizing that she had been having sex, including with the mother's boyfriend.

Defense attorneys told jurors that the mother had trouble with her rebellious daughter and that the girl agreed to the piercing to help rebuild her mother's trust.

These defense attorneys are admitting that the mother knew her daughter was the victim of a sex crime and her "protection" was to make sex uncomfortable for the victim?

This is the ultimate in victim blaming.

Of course this girl was rebellious. Victims of sex crimes often are angry and for good reason. The only good part of this story is that this girl has a separate guardian and I hope this acquittal doesn't result in the girl being returned to her mother.

Is 20 Years Enough For Man Who Raped 4 Girls?

This man admitted recording rapes of 4 girls and then putting the images up on the Internet.

Scott Dean Brown, 34, of Omak [Washington], engaged in sexual "physical contact of every type and of every nature" with the girls for five to six years, and they must now cope "with profound effects the rest of their lives," U.S. District Judge William Fremming Nielsen said Monday. "I don't mean to be overly dramatic, but this really is a terrible case."

Considering the age of what appears to be his target victims, 20 years doesn't seem nearly long enough for public safety.

Girls Testify Against Abuser Help Win Case

So many sex crime cases with child victims end with a plea deal to spare the victims from testifying. The problem with this motivation is that the result can be pathetically short sentences on charges that are more to the perpetrator's liking.

Two young girls hugged each other and wept this afternoon as an Oswego County [New York] Court jury found a man guilty of raping them. [...] The jury found Gunther guilty of one count each of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of first-degree rape and five counts of sexual abuse.

George Gunther's maximum sentence for these convictions is 125 years.

With A Helper Like This Who Needs Enemies

In Yakima, Washington we have an example of a bad Samaritan:

Thomas Jones pleaded guilty to third degree child rape. Police say he raped and molested the 15-year-old victim more than 50 times in just a few months. [...] Police say the teen had moved in with Jones and his family because she was kicked out of her home.

It's unfortunate that people like this will cause this girl and others to be suspicious of all those who offer help.

Good News David Copperfield Coping

The headline Copperfield Copes With Probe, Sex Claims spins the situation where it is assumed that David Copperfield is the real victim.

He's coping "as best as can be expected."

Please, spare me the melodrama. The FBI is investigating him and fortunately, Copperfield will have defense attorneys making sure that his rights are upheld throughout this process.

Second Trial On 1975 Rape Murder Case

From the Guardian article, DNA pinpoints 1975 child killer, Bradford court hears:

The killer of an 11-year-old girl remained free for more than 30 years after the wrong suspect was convicted of the crime, a court heard today. In 1976 Stefan Kiszko, a tax clerk, was convicted of abducting Lesley Molseed and stabbing her to death on a moor.

More than 16 years later, however, advances in forensic science led to Kiszko being freed and his conviction being quashed. Further investigation then led officers to charge Ronald Castree, 53, with the murder 31 years ago.

This is good news for the family of this murdered girl and hopefully this time the legal system will result in true justice.

Most Eligible Bachelor Alleged Rapist

This case where the alleged rapist is the opposite of the stereotypical rapist highlights why attractiveness isn't meaningful evidence.

A Boston defense attorney once dubbed one of People Magazine's Most Eligible bachelors was arrested for allegedly drugging and raping a college student he met at a Miami Beach nightclub.

Gary Zerola -- already facing trial in two sexual attacks in Boston -- was arrested last Friday night and booked into Miami-Dade County jail.

It sounds like this is a case of extreme arrogance. When people tell attractive and talented boys and men that they can get any woman they want, they are reinforcing a dangerous lie.

Jacob Wetterling Abduction 18 Years Ago Today

To honor Jacob, who was abducted at age 11 by a masked gunman near St. Joseph, Minnesota, the Jacob Wetterling Foundation is asking families to leave a porch light on or to light a candle today.

Unfortunately, Jacob isn't the only child abduction victim who is still missing.

Those of us who haven't been personally touched by tragedy can support those who have faced great loss and uncertainty.

Pennsylvania Sets Ironclad Rules That Can Be Ignored

From Philly.com:

Hospitals in Pennsylvania must provide women who have been raped or sexually assaulted with emergency contraception, according to state regulations approved yesterday.

The rules, adopted by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, are the first statewide for how hospitals must deal with emergency contraception, long a touchy subject in Pennsylvania and other states.

But supporters of emergency contraception said yesterday that the regulations gave hospitals an easy out by allowing them to apply for an exemption due to religious or moral objections.

I believe the law requires non-opted out hospitals to give information on EC and then to provide EC if the rape victim chooses to take it. The law would not force hospitals to give ECs against the rape victim's wishes.

These excemptions create what I call Jane Crow laws that puts everyone else's rights above the rights of women. In this case putting everyone else's rights above the rights of raped women and girls.

Cheering Rape As A Way To Be Liked

From M(ichigan) Live:

Janet Chandler's roommate and boss at the Blue Mill Inn said she participated in Chandler's murder, actually cheering on the men raping her, because she "wanted to be accepted."

"I was a girl of 21 who wanted to be accepted by others, even if it was the wrong people," Laurie Swank testified today in Ottawa County Circuit Court.

This 1979 gang rape and murder is sickening without knowing about the background of the crime. This woman's behavior came from far more than the desire to be liked. It sounds like hatred motivated by a desire to be the most liked.

Japan probes reported gang-rape by U.S. Marines

From Publicbroadcasting:

Public broadcaster NHK reported that four U.S. Marines from Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station in southwest Japan had raped a 19-year-old woman in a car at a car park in nearby Hiroshima City after meeting her at an event hall.

If the defense against this allegation is that the sex was consensual that is likely to fall flat -- at least with large segments of the public. So often what that defense means is that the defendants thought they had the right to take what they wanted.


Nothing less than full and unencumbered consent gives anyone that right.

The Importance Of Accuracy When Restricting Registered Sex Offenders

According to this story a father of 2 was sent a letter from the school which told that he couldn't come on school grounds unless he was escorted because he is a sex offender. Only he isn't a sex offender.

This error and the process that led to it is an important reminder that assumptions based on one piece of data can be dead wrong. These mistakes hurt those falsely identified as registered sex offenders, they also can build the belief that anyone who doesn't look like a sex offender must be on the list because of a mistake.

Hat tip: Sex Crimes

Most Treatments For PSTD Unproven

According to this AP story, the only treatments for PTSD which have been proven are the exposure treatments where patients are exposed to sights and sounds which simulate the original trauma. Other treatments may work but they have not be researched enough to provide any conclusions on possible effectiveness.

I'm not sure how exposure treatments works for rape and abuse survivors. Maybe those with PTSD are slowly introduced to non-dangerous situations where they are triggered.

Trailer Park Focuses On Registered Sex Offenders

This story about the Palace mobile home park near St. Petersburg, Florida where 95 out of the 200 residents (adults only) are registered sex offenders highlights the efforts of manager Nancy Morais who is a survivor of childhood sexual assault.


Because of the number of sex offenders there are frequent visits from police are great awareness of the potential for wrongdoing. In so many places people have a false sense of security because they have none of "those people" living near them.


This story raises many important issues and I suggest reading the entire article.

Helpful Stranger Rapist

So often when people think of stranger rapists, they think about maniacs holding a weapon, but some stranger rapists choose a subtler approach.

One such rapist offered help to a woman attending Washington State University's homecoming game in Pullman. She got separated from her friends and became lost in an unfamiliar town. This man is still at large and the police are circulating a sketch of the suspect in hopes that someone recognizes him.

Minnesota Authorities Searching For Police Impersonator

This case involves a man who drives a white car made to look like a Sheriff's car. In one instance, the man tried to get a girl to get inside his car. This is a serious matter since those who impersonate cops can commit violent crimes.

MN State Settles Lawsuit With Family of Dru Sjodin

For anyone who isn't familiar with the criminal case which sparked this lawsuit, Dru Sjodin was a college student who was kidnapped in the parking lot of the mall where she worked and later murdered by Alfonso Rodriguez, a convicted sex offender who met Minnesota's standards for civil commitment, but who was released without any attempt to commit him.

The settlement was for $300K which is significantly less than the settlements for many lawsuits over wrongful convictions which didn't result in death. This has the unfortunate effect of making it cheaper to err on the side of putting the public in danger.

Response To On-Campus Rape By Non-Student

From Coshocton Tribune:

[Muskingum College Campus Police officer Bethany] Hayes said [Timothy] Williams initially gave them a different name, Social Security number and date of birth and told them he was a student at the campus. Several hours later officials learned that Williams was not a student, but had been staying with students in their dorm rooms and attending some classes.

Once campus police determined Williams was not a student, they called the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office who sent Detective K.C. Jones to investigate the incident.

The last paragraph made me wonder what would have happened to the case if the alleged rapist had been a student as he initially claimed.

The defendant is 37 years old and was living in the same dorm as the alleged victim. Whoever let him stay in their dorm room should face disciplinary measures for putting other students in danger.

As usual when there is physical evidence linking the defendant undeniably to the crime, the defense attorney, David Mortimer, is falling back on the familiar bigoted refrain that the contact was consensual and that the alleged victim lied to protect her reputation. As if this defense attorney couldn't be putting forth a bold-faced lie to protect the reputation and freedom of his client.

For too many defense attorneys deliberately putting forth a bold-faced lie is not only not bad, it is expected when a lie is the client's only possible defense.

Update (10/17): The jury found the defendant guilty of rape.

Duh: Jurors Biased In Rape Cases

From ABC Australia:

The Australian Institute of Criminology interviewed 2,000 people and held 18 mock trials to find out what juries think about during rape trials. Only 10 per cent of rape trials end in a guilty verdict.

The Institute's Dr Natalie Taylor says the research suggests the misconceptions about rape make it less likely for a jury to convict.

"44 per cent of males, 32 per cent of females believe that rape results from men not being able to control their need for sex," she said. "The implication of that is that the responsibility for rape is being taken away from the offender."

Rapists know this and celebrate it. Many others know this too and while they may not celebrate it, they don't care enough about it to try to change this reality.

Only in certain rapes is it unsurprising for all the responsibility for the rapist's actions to be put on the rapist. In many others the bias is such that there is either a false sense of reasonable doubt or there is the view that it was a no-fault rape.

I suspect the greatest bias comes in cases where the alleged rapist wasn't a stranger to the alleged victim. Our criminal justice systems are not unbiased bystanders and even when they are unbiased, their actions can inadvertantly create bias.

From OVERCOMING A CONSENT DEFENSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT (Word document) by Joanne Archambault, Diana K. Faugno (Journal of Emergency Nursing, April 2001):

As a result of inadequate investigations and prosecution of non-stranger sexual assaults and the shortage of crime lab resources, most rape kits and the clothing impounded with them, are never looked at by anyone. An FBI survey revealed that of all rapes, less than 10 percent had evidence submitted to crime laboratories. As a result of limited resources in crime laboratories, in only 6% of the 250,000 rape cases investigated, was the recovered DNA tested, leaving a backlog of over two hundred thousand cases awaiting processing.[1]
[1] National Institute of Justice Journal, The Unrealized Potential of DNA Testing, December 1997

This data is nearly a decade old, but I suspect in many jurisdictions that the numbers have gotten no better. In some, because of budget cuts and lack of will, their numbers may be worse now than they were a decade ago.

Sloppy investigations are likely to bias a jury even further against conviction.

Michigan Bill To Fund Rape Exams

From Red Tape Blog:

Since the Royal Oak program began in 2001, sexual assault convictions are up, and victims are recovering better after being seen by the specialized female nurses.
In addition, the nurses are providing police with better evidence and giving victims treatment that is more compassionate than that found in most hospitals, according to studies. Increasingly, hospitals, too, have in-house nurse-examiner programs.

But years of cuts in federal funding threaten the future of the Royal Oak program and others like it around the state. In Royal Oak, a nonprofit group spends about $175,000 a year on the nurse-examiner program after paying the lease of $1 a year to the city, which owns the cottage-size bungalow.

I don't know if the bill which would use higher fees from convicted criminals will pass, but something must be done so that victims aren't denied professional treatment and justice simply because legislators decide that these services aren't important enough to pay for.

Judge Says Rape Can't Be Rape If There Is Consent For Something Other Than What Happened

For some people, Judge Teresa Carr Deni's ruling in the Philadelphia Municipal Court that you can't rape a prostitute but instead are only stealing the merchandise will be a laughing matter or no big deal or confirmation of what they already believed. These people, including this judge, take the issue of sexual violence too lightly which delights rapists everywhere.

Because the victim had agreed to sex for money it won't matter to them that she was gang raped at gunpoint. I disagree. Calling rape anything else gives the high five to rapists.

This judge is instructing rapists in how to rape with her blessing. That is very dangerous and not just for those who exchange money for sex.

The judge held the defendant, Dominique Gindraw, on armed robbery charges. By switching the charges this judge may say she is not ignoring a gun crime. However, what jury is going to convict a man of armed robbery when he is instead guilty of rape?

We must have zero tolerance for sexual violence if we are going to protect those who this judge would accept as real rape victims. If she thinks that all men who rape prostitutes will limit themselves to attacking those on her list of non-victims, she is a fool.

hat tip: Group News Blog

Rapist Who Evaded Justice Due To DNA Blunder Convicted

From the BBC:

Welder Mark Campbell, 38, of Grenville Gardens, Donnington, Chichester, was convicted at Chichester Crown Court. [...] He first struck in 1998 when he indecently assaulted a 27-year-old woman in her house. Jurors were told that a serious error by police investigating the attacks allowed him to remain at large. Prosecutor Christine Laing said he was arrested over a suspected "peeping Tom" offence in 2002 but an "oversight" meant his DNA swab was not sent off for analysis until a case review four years later.

This delay is unfortunately very common because despite the amount of surface support countries have for law enforcement, the funding often runs far behind our demand for results.

YWCA Week Without Violence Oct. 14 - 20

The slogan for this week says it all: Enough!

Hat tip: AMW Safety Center

South Carolina In Top 10 For Domestic Violence But Help Is Available

From Patriot News:

From July 2006 to June 2007, the Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault provided refuge to 1,508 victims throughout the region. That figure only continues to grow and is indicative of the domestic violence epidemic plaguing South Carolina. [...]

Last month, the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., released "When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2005 Homicide Data." The federal study contains the most current statistics, which show that of the 1,858 women killed in America that year, 43 occurred in South Carolina, among other things. The study also ranks South Carolina seventh in the nation behind Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico, Mississippi and Arkansas for the amount of women killed by men in single victim-single offender homicides. In the past, South Carolina was ranked first.

While it isn't good that South Carolina has this level of violence, it is good that there seems to be some downward trend which hopefully didn't come because men in other states are increasing their violence. These changes don't just happen randomly. They happen through the combined efforts of advocates with a specific focus and the efforts of those who don't like crime in general and who accept that crime between those in relationships is a real crime that shouldn't be ignored.

The drop in crime should also -- whenever possible -- come because those who once felt that relationship violence is acceptable realize that it is not acceptable.

Truly strong men don't kill their wives or their girlfriends. The use of violence is an indicator of weakness and incompetence.

Doctor, Attendant Arrested For Hiding Rape Case Evidence

From India Enews:

A senior doctor and an attendant of the [India] national capital's ESI hospital, where a woman doctor was allegedly raped in her hostel room last month, have been arrested and charged with medical negligence and concealing evidence, police said Monday.

'We arrested chief medical officer (CMO) Sunil Kumar Ravi and nursing attendant Hari Kishan Meena for medical negligence and concealing evidence on Sunday,' Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Rakesh Kumar told IANS.

The alleged behavior is very troubling. Tampering with evidence should be viewed as a very serious crime.

Don't Try This At Home Or Anywhere Else

The body count created by men who murder women in their lives keeps rising and this crime in Fort Worth, Texas shows a combination of brutality and mercy which proves that these men are not out of control but are exerting the most extreme form of control.

For some men their wife or girlfriend ending the relationship becomes a capital crime and they become the executioner. I heard one expert say that the first 30 days after a break up is the most dangerous for women. This information was given in response to the shooting in Crandon, Wisconsin where off-duty sheriff's deputy, Tyler Peterson, murdered 6 and severely wounded the 7th victim.

After the man in Fort Worth shot his estranged wife and two stepchildren, a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, he left his blood-covered daughter, age 3, at a church.

This type of violence is so typical of men who respond to the end of a relationship with murder that it isn't likely to get the type of focus given to school shootings. Neighbors reportedly call this crime shocking because the man was the opposite of violent, but the police were called to the home at least twice in the last month according to the report when the man was banging at the door and wouldn't leave.

National Hotline for Sexual Violence and Abuse in Canada

Sexual Violence is unacceptable and one of the most unreported crimes in Canada.

Many abuse survivors have been silent, with limited resources.

The National Hotline would be the first resource in Canada offering counselling by phone and maybe online to victims of sexual violent crimes.

In Canada, the rural areas many sexual violent crimes and abuse go UN-REPORTED.

I personally feel this new National Hot Line would be a unique way to bring education, and awareness about sexual violence and abuse.

If also would be useful with prevention of sexual violence/abuse. Bringing forth for the first time in Canada the issues faced by those who have been affected by sexual violence and abuse, it could also assist in reporting many of these crimes.

I know if National Hot Line was in place at the time of my assault, I would have immediately called the Hot Line.

We need to have long term resources and assistance to survivors of sexual violence and abuse.

Survivors of abuse/sexual violent crime should not be silence because of limited resources are fear in reporting.

Email the elections officials Members of Parliament in your area to have the issues around sexual violence addressed.

Nov 3: National March Against Hate Crimes and Racism

From the press release put out by Black Lawyers for Justice:

March Purpose: To bring national and statewide support to Charleston resident Megan Williams, the Williams Family, and victims of other hate crimes nationwide. The Jena 6 case, the rise in the hanging of nooses, and other current acts of racially motivated injustice and intimidation against Blacks/African Americans will all be highlighted at this National March against Hate Crimes. Families and victims of hate crimes that are occurring throughout the nation will attend. Black Lawyers For Justice, the Williams Family and organizers are demanding that Federal Hate Crimes charges as well as State hate crime charges be brought in the Williams' case.

Injustice against blacks isn't just a black issue, it is a human rights issue. The stereotyping I've seen so-called informed people use as justification for racist attitudes and policies is appalling and cannot be tolerated.

hat tip: Slant Truth

17 Year Old Charged With Sexual Assault Murder of 99 Year Old Neighbor

This case in Florida where Edith Mecalla was raped and murdered in her own home, and where her 77-year-old daughter was assaulted as the attacker fled, is a harsh reminder that we need to be much more proactive to prevent rape. That means letting go of ineffective methods like lecturing girls and women about risky behavior or proper self-defense strategies.

Hennepin County, Minnesota is seeing a record number of sexual assaults. Many of these sexual assaults include an increased level of viciousness. We need to stand up against this trend and never make any excuses for those who rape.

If we wait to deal with offenders until after they've been caught, we've waited too long. These are not born monsters, they are people who have made the choice to hurt others. We need to figure out how to help them make better choices.

Penn State Running Back Charged With Rape

From Penn State Collegian:

Penn State running back Austin Scott has been charged with the rape of a female student in connection with an incident at Nittany Apartments early last Friday, according to a Penn State Police press release.

He is accused of raping a fellow student last Friday and didn't play in that night's game and it looks like he won't play in the next game either.

From CSTV:

Scott declined to comment as he left the courtroom Friday.

"The interaction he had with the woman involved was consensual, and we anticipate we will be able to prove that in court," his lawyer, Joseph Amendola, said. "Very
optimistic. We're looking forward to the opportunity of establishing his innocence."

Authorities said the encounter occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 5. Coach Joe Paterno suspended Scott later that day, saying the tailback had violated an unspecified team rule.

This defense is typical and basically tells us nothing except for this man's attorney's planned strategy. Too often this strategy means that it will be open season on the alleged victim's character instead of focusing on details of the evidence.

Unfortunately, labels like liar or delusional sell better than putting forth one of two conflicting perspectives on the same actions.

Short Rape Sentences Doubled To Still Short Sentences

From the BBC:

Devon chef Simon Foster, 26, raped a 12-year-old girl, and Oxford window cleaner Keith Fenn, 25, raped a 10-year-old girl. Attorney General Baroness Scotland argued in court their original terms should not be allowed to stand. Both men had their two-year sentences doubled from two to four years.

This doubling would be more impressive if the original sentences weren't so pathetic that doubling them added more than 2 years.

New National Rape Crisis Hotline For Scotland

The hotline (freephone 08088 01 03 02) isn't yet a 24/7 resource. It is staffed every day from 6pm to midnight which is a good start.

For more information, read this news release.

New Focus

This blog has a new focus and will be transitioning into a group blog. To learn more check out my call for co-bloggers at my personal blog, Abyss2hope.

If you are doing a fundraiser or special event, such as a Take Back The Night walk, related to the fight against sexual or domestic violence, you are invited to send an announcement to me which I will post here (cross-posts from your home blog are welcome) on your behalf as a one-time guest blogger. No blogger account will be needed for these. Depending on my personal schedule, it may take me a day or 2 to post these, so send them in early.

My email address is listed in my user profile.