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News False Rape Accusations

Posted by on April 12 at 11:47 AM

So the Duke lacrosse players didn’t do it—that’s today’s big news.

Well, it was until a bomb exploded inside the building that houses the Iraqi parliament, killing at least three lawmakers—a building that is inside “the heavily fortified green zone. So it looks like there’s one less neighborhood in Baghdad that John McCain can freely stroll through.

Back to those falsely-accused Duke lacrosse players:

There was no credible evidence of an attack—there was no DNA evidence and no witnesses at the party who could corroborate the accuser’s account, Cooper said. The accusation also was not consistent with time-stamped photographs and phone records, he said.

A written summary of the factual findings that investigators relied on to conclude that no attack occurred will be released next week. Cooper added that perjury charges against the accuser were considered but rejected, because she appears to believe in her uncorroborated and sometimes contradictory accounts of a sexual assault.”

Prosecutors may, however, go after the prosecutor that brought the charges against the Duke lacrosse players—here’s hoping they do.

And at the risk of incurring ECB’s wrath, I gotta say that I think the stripper ought to be prosecuted too. Back in the bad ol’ days a woman who claimed to have been raped was not believed or blamed. That was wrong. Now accusations of rape are taken seriously, as well they should be. But the pendulum has swung so wildly that the presumption of innocence no longer exists for a man accused of rape. He’s guilty until proven innocent—that’s what the Duke lacrosse players were put through.

False charges of rape are so damaging, so potentially life-destroying, that they have to be regarded as criminal themselves. They are criminal—filing a false police report is a crime. I don’t think women should be in legal trouble when an accusation of rape can’t be proved—when it boils down to a he said/she said dispute—but when there is evidence that the charge was entirely false, when the issue isn’t murky consent but malicious fabrication, charges should be brought.

We don’t want to discourage women from reporting crimes, which was the case in the bad ol’ days. But we should discourage women—and men and children and pets and houseplants—from making false rape accusations.

CommentsRSS icon

1

If they are truly innocent, yes, you are correct, but I have a hard time believing all three of the accused are free of any wrong-doing whatsoever, particularly Collin Finnerty who was previously convicted with two of his friends of gay-bashing a stranger in D.C. These boys were obviously out of control and had been coddled by their families and the university their entire lives. I don't feel sorry for them at all.

2

If these were three black football players from Ole Miss and the stripper were white, would the charges have been dropped?

If you want to go after the prosecutor and complainant in THIS case, you better first go after the thousands of folks who have brought false claims and charges against the folks who didn't have access to defense attorneys and the media that these lacrosse players did.

3

I agree that false accusations should be dealt with criminally. However, how about this: Don't hire a hooker, and then gang bang her unless you are POSITIVE that she is ok with it.

Unless they proved that they never called her up for sex in the first place?

I think it also brings up the questions of rape with sex workers. Obviously you can rape a sex worker, but I had felt that during the investigation that there was a huge stigma that she was automatically wrong because of her particular field.
Maybe Mistress Matisse could weigh in here about this?

4

I totally agree that women making obviously false allegations need to be charged. The pendulum has swung too far towards the assumption of guilt. Not only in rape allegations but also in false allegations of child sexual abuse during custody battles.

I volunteered for years in a domestic violence shelter and I know how difficult it is for women and children to get the support and help they need when they are victims.

The fact that women can make false allegations without any legal penalties ties up resources that could be helping true victims. For every false allegation of child sexual abuse that falls on the desk of a CPS worker, it's likely another case involving a child that is really being abused is being short-changed.

5

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/04/rapestoppers_ra.html

"Shaped like a female condom and worn internally, its hollow interior is lined with 25 razor-sharp teeth, which fasten on to an attacker's penis if he attempts penetration."

Take that RAPISTS!

I found the link to this on Andrew Sullivan's blog.

6

I don't think it's too much of a risk, Dan. We have to endure the witch's rants most days. Plus, consider yourself lucky; you get to look directly into her eyes and determine the sincerity.

Oh, Erica, about stepping it up. Guess what? There are opportunities today, tomorrow AND Saturday to do good AND for Sunday, a day of rest, but that's good too! Fancy that you simpleton. Start highsteppin it up back to texass for the betterment of all of us.

7

The problem is that the accuser supposedly believes that an attack happened, which is weird, but, if she still believes it, how can she be charged with perjury? It seems like she needs a visit to a shrink.

8

"We don't want to discourage women from reporting crimes..."

But "we" DO discourage women from reporting crimes... otherwise why would rape be the most underreported crime of all? Women who report rapes are vilified, dragged through the mud by the media, characterized as whores, interrogated about their sexual past, and on and on. Reporting a rape is traumatic, too, Dan. The idea that this is a fun activity women just looove to do frivolously is absolutely ridiculous.

9

"I don’t think women should be in legal trouble when an accusation of rape can’t be proved—when it boils down to a he said/she said dispute—but when there is evidence that the charge was entirely false, when the issue isn’t murky consent but malicious fabrication, charges should be brought."

But that's the problem, Dan - you need some solid evidence of intentional, malicious fabrication, and there's not much evidence of that here (other than some secondhand testimony from another woman who, AFAIK, retracted her comments.) If she believes she was attacked, or she was attacked but isn't sure by who, then to convict her would be a serious injustice. The prosecutor is another story, however; he should've known better.

What would be nice, of course, would be if both accuser AND the accused's names were kept confidential through these trials. And if the general public and media would genuinely reserve all judgement about such matters, rather than jumping to the side of whichever party most fits into their demographic of choice.

10

AFter the last discussion about rape on here, I decided to google rape statistics. Here's what I found on RAINN. Also, that rape/sexual assault is down 69%. Not bad.

How Many Reports Are False?

There is widespread opinion that a large number of reported sexual assaults are false claims. That is absolutely not true. According to the FBI, in 2003 5.5% of sexual assaults were determined to be unfounded. "Unfounded" includes cases when there is insufficient evidence, the victim decides not to follow through with prosecution, the victim repeatedly changes the account of rape, the victim recants and police are unable to locate the victim as well as when the allegation is found to be false.

11

@8. I don't think Dan said she did it for fun. I think she did it thinking she could get a quick payout as the rich, high profile students would quickly pay to make it all go away.

Rape victims will never be believed as long as there are people who stand up and defend the women that make false accusations. You can't have it both ways.

12

erica @8, join the 21st century, please. you're not doing feminsim any favors. you automatically assume that the reason rape is the most underreported crime is because "we DO discourage women from reporting" it. how about that we underreport because we are deeply embarrassed by it (not entirely rational, but true), and we just want to forget it and put it behind us; i speak from experience. police proceedure regarding rape is far more gentle and sensitive than it used to be, especially in metropolitan areas, and i can't recall the last time i saw an example of the media treating rape victims "like whores". but yes, reporting is an ordeal, because the burden of proof is on the accuser, as it should be, so evidence needs to be collected, the accuser closely interrogated. even so, some are willing to falsely accuse. dan is right, false accusation is a horrible, punishable thing. if the girl did so because she was deranged, then she needs treatment. if she did so because she's a liar, she needs to do some time.

13

ECB: certainly many women who are actually raped have a tough time after reporting the crime. But women who fabricate rape allegations don't face any traumatic experiences because they made up a false story! They should be tried for filing a false police report.

Keshmeshi: she could still be charged even if she believes her own story. It's up to the jury to determine if she's being honest about her belief, or is again lying to get what she wants (in this case avoiding prosecution). If the jury believes she believed her own story, then not guilty, but if she's just BS'ing again, then guilty.

14

"But the pendulum has swung so wildly that the presumption of innocence no longer exists for a man accused of rape."

I have to disagree. Yes, the woman should be prosecuted because she's the reason why many women are not believed when rape happens.

However, I still agree that the presumption is usually that the woman is lying. Take Joseph P. Smith the guy who murdered a Florida school girl.
Several years before he murdered Carlie (Via CNN):

"In November 1997 he was arrested on a charge of kidnapping/false imprisonment in Manatee County.

According to records from the Manatee County Sheriff's Department, a woman said he grabbed her as she was walking along a street and threatened to "cut her if she failed to remain quiet." A passing vehicle stopped and intervened, allowing her to flee, the record said.

He was acquitted a year later."

He was acquitted because the jury believed somehow this woman hadn't heard right. He sense of hearing was questioned. Nevermind that he was a stranger and she had no reason to lie.

Need I also bring up Kobe Bryant.

The presumption is still that the woman is lying and that's why this woman who did lie should absolutely be prosecuted.

15

Members of the media who fed the frenzy and help destroy the presumption of innocence are guilty here too. But it isn't all that surprising that few are willing to admit they did so. Nearly all of the coverage is of prosecutorial misconduct with no mention of media aiding and abetting.

The result is that future high profile rape victims will be subjected to greater scrutiny than before by a media over compensating for mishandling this case.

16

On another note, imagine if you were a real rape victim in Durham, NC right now. Even if the evidence is solid, you might be represented by ... Mike Nifong.

17

@2 You seem to feel like this is a victory for White America and a loss for Black America. It's not really. Any time that injustice is uncovered and fixed, everyone wins. This was a politically motivated persecution of those white players, and if this guy was willing to do what he did to the rich and powerful, how long would he have hesitated to hurt the weak and penniless? Good riddance.

18

Erica - 3 kids were falsely accused of a horrible crime, kicked out of school, presumed guilty by the national media and much of the country, and had their lives ruined.

And this doesn't bother you? You can't muster up even a smidgeon of sympathy? Because they are men? Really?

If that's true, then you have to admit you are a mysandrist biggot, morally indistinguishable from the mysogynists who assume real rape victims 'had it coming'.

Ick.

19

Yes, false rape claims are bad. Yes, they are life-changing and damaging, etc. This woman is obviously not to be trusted. But these fucking guys are being held up as "heroes". They are supposedly the best of the best- smarter, more athletic, etc. I don't buy it. Wonder why we have so many professional athletes getting arrested? Is it possible that we coddle college athletes and make them feel invincible? "They were just having fun" and "boys will be boys" and "this stuff happens all the time" should not be arguments for why it's okay. Too bad there is so much money and power tied up in the whole college athletics and fraternity system. So many of these guys are fucking criminals, and so many parents and administrators continue to defend a system that is obviously broken.

20

The idea that ONLY alleged rapists are guilty until proven innocent is bogus. Most people accused of crimes are treated as guilty until proven innocent. Many accused have to stay in jail until their trial--imagine being locked up and WAITING for a trial even though you are innocent.

Prosecuting the alleged victim is not going to solve the problem. The problem is with prosecution. It happens often, sloppy police work and sloppy DA work lead to bad prosecutions and bad convictions. Check out the papers, it doesn't just have to lacrosse players, it happens to a lot of people.

21

The amount hypocracy being spewed here is ridiculous. Finnarty could very well have made a sexual slur which caused his arrest in 2005, but does that make him a rapist? And if it is okay to put his criminal history out there, lets look at the history of the accuser, who was a convicted theif.

So they were frat boys. So they were white. So they were overpriviaged kids. This does not make them rapists. This doesnt make what happened to them any less a crime. They were tried and convicted in the eyes of the media and America long before the charges were dropped. And even though the womans story has been disproved, their are still ignorant people who will always see them as criminals.

22

You want to know why prosecuting women who are alleged to have fabricated rape complaints is a very bad idea, Dan? Because we are still living in the bad old days.

People can argue back and forth all day about whether women should or might or actually have fabricated rape complaints, and except in certain rather unlikely circumstances, there isn't going to be incontrovertible proof. Meanwhile, there's no denying either that women who have been sexually assaulted are (at least sometimes) disbelieved and persecuted, or that that atmosphere irreparably harms rape victims -- whether they report their attacks or not -- much less the dismal truth that victims of sexual assault are less likely to seek help every time anyone reporting a rape is disbelieved.

23

Well one of the reasons that accusers aren't believed is high profile cases like this where the report was false after a huge smear campaign was launched on the accused. We all know how negatively a false accusation of any kind of sexual assault can affect someone so to try and say "Yeah but it's not that big of a deal" is only going to cement the "false accuser" mentality in the social consciousness. However there is a blindingly simple solution: we don't broadcast the names of the accuser so let's not broadcast the names of the accused. That way if you WERE falsely accused you're not going to have people protesting at and/or vandalizing your house all hours of the night etc. etc. I don't see one reason whatsoever that we need to know the name of someone accused of a crime. If there's a conviction then fine, serve it up, but until then....

24

"much less the dismal truth that victims of sexual assault are less likely to seek help every time anyone reporting a rape is disbelieved."

Well, gee. So are we then to unconditionally assume rape accusers' accounts are invariably the gospel truth, merely out of fear that other rape victims won't come forward? Perhaps we should get rid of that whole pesky "innocent until proven guilty" thing.

25

And for the record, I haven't seen one account that held them up as "heroes" (as someone intimated earlier in the chain) but they are victims as sure as someone who was raped is a victim. That's really where we need to fall on this type of question; ok who was the victim and who was the perpetrator of the crime.

26

#21, jewritto - Get your facts straight! Finnerty's arrest wasn't just for a 'sexual slur' He and two others were taunting a guy because they perceived he was gay. It escalated, and they assaulted him. Sorry, but I'm inclined to believe that someone that can objectify a man and attack him is certainly capable of objectifying and attacking a woman. They found he didn't in this case, but the guy is a menace regardless.

27

So anyone who has ever been in a fight should automatically be considered a potential rapist? The accuser in this case filed similar charges that didn't pan out so should she be considered a menace and not believed at all in the future? The two incidents are totally unrelated.

28

#26 Phil whines: "Get your facts straight! Finnerty's arrest wasn't just for a 'sexual slur' He and two others were taunting a guy because they perceived he was gay"...

Do all you, 'panderers to the politically correct' get a bad back walking around bent over and cheeks spread?

Just asking...

29

Dan,

Please.

With the BBC reporting that only 5.6% of 11,766 reports in 2004 in the UK ended with a convinction, we either have an AWFUL lot of liar women ('cos suing a men for rape is so much fun!) or we're still in the good ol' days.

30

Or maybe, just maybe, just possibly, rape is hard to prove because of its very nature, making reasonable doubt present in a great deal of cases.

31

Dubious:

"but I have a hard time believing all three of the accused are free of any wrong-doing whatsoever"

Congratulations. You now join Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as the ultimate purveyors of justice.

32

@Phil...

Being a bigot doesn't make you a rapist, it just makes you an asshole. Just like being a convicted criminal didn't automatically make the accused a liar.

False rape accusations happen, and they are a crime. Period.

33

#28, juandos - How conveniant you only reprint part of my quote to make your 'politically-correct' slam. As you're fully aware, I went on to say that they assaulted him and were arrested for it. It's easy to invent your own points when you take things out of context.
#27 mike - Do you even know the difference between a 'fight' and an 'assault'? Three guys ganged up on another and beat him. That's not a 'fight'.
#32 jewritto - I understand your point about the false rape accusations. Yes, they are a crime and need to be dealt with appropriately. But when they first investigating this, and showed Finnerty had a past history of assaults, it deserved a close look into the accused and his potential to commit other assaults. Since they found him innocent of these charges, I have no problem with wiping the slate clean of this issue. What it doesn't do, is erase the past assault and I fully stand by my opinion of him as a menace.

34

Duious:

Finnerty was never charged and therfore NOT convicted of Gay-Bashing in DC. The district has a Gay-Bashing criminal offense, but Finnerty was not charged under that statute.

In fact, if you look up the case you will find that the charge involved a bar fight with a guy who took offense to being called a gay by Finnerty and friends.

If we call this Gay-Bashing then we need to better define what the term means.

Do we really want to have such an all encompassing definition that would allow hate crime laws to apply to every use of an epithet? Perhaps some would, but I seriously doubt the 1st amendment would allow it.

35

I was wondering, given her previous heated commentary, if Erica would even acknowledge that the Duke players got exonerated. Funny that only Dan Savage would even bring the story up. Not important news, I guess.


Women don't lie about rape? And the justice system isn't horribly weighted against the men in any of these accusations?


http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/great-dick-babe/24507/


This story was widely reported in the blogosphere, but was pretty much ignored by the mainstream media, despite having all sorts of juicy purient details. Guess it doesn't fit the proper agenda.


The conclusion is that Moonier just copped a plea to a year. Because she's, um, bipolar and stuff. Of course, the legal system was far more upset that she took money under false pretenses than that the six guys she accused could have been put in jail for the rest of their lives. Her false accusations against them were just misdemeanors, after all. No injustice there.

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