This is atrocious!

[Boxlicker101]

This rape victim is liable to spend more time in prison than the two guys who raped her, because she told who they were.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout...tter-sexual-assault-louisville-174732753.html

I wonder if the court is aware she is also warning other young women not to trust the two rapists.


ETA: This sounds like something that would happen in Saudi Arabia or one of those other backwards places. I was under the impression that names of rape victims are not made public, especially when they are underage.

 

[nicecthulhu]

I'm curious to see what the eventual outcome is. Are the charges against her thrown out by a sane judge? Do the two rapists have powerful family connections? Isn't 18 the legal age down there? So if they show pictures isn't that possession and distribution of child porn?
Rape is a crime that the victim rarely ever escapes from. So many women don't report it and as a man I cannot blame them for being afraid to report it.
Your judges are elected, aren't they? I'd think that public opinion would have some effect on the man or woman presiding over her case.
As for the Saudi Arabia comment, democracy does not automatically make all the citizens of a nation into great minds.

 

[PennLady]

That's awful. I don't get this plea deal. Are the attackers under 18? Why don't they have to register as sex offenders? This is indeed ridiculous.

 

[lovecraft68]

Hopefully this gets enough play that they end up finding these animals somewhere with their legs and arms broken, or better yet their nuts cut off.

 

[Stella_Omega]

This rape victim is liable to spend more time in prison than the two guys who raped her, because she told who they were.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout...tter-sexual-assault-louisville-174732753.html

I wonder if the court is aware she is also warning other young women not to trust the two rapists.


ETA: This sounds like something that would happen in Saudi Arabia or one of those other backwards places. I was under the impression that names of rape victims are not made public, especially when they are underage.

She made her own name public.

That's awful. I don't get this plea deal. Are the attackers under 18? Why don't they have to register as sex offenders? This is indeed ridiculous.

They are under 18, as is the victim... and they plea-bargained. She wasn't aware of what was going on in the court, no one told her.

 

[TE999]

This rape victim is liable to spend more time in prison than the two guys who raped her, because she told who they were.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout...tter-sexual-assault-louisville-174732753.html

I wonder if the court is aware she is also warning other young women not to trust the two rapists.


ETA: This sounds like something that would happen in Saudi Arabia or one of those other backwards places. I was under the impression that names of rape victims are not made public, especially when they are underage.

This happened in August 2011 and they just were sentenced? I suppose they were out on bail too.

I don't care if they were juvies, that judge's a fucking idiot. Allowing two convicted rapists to plea bargain and get a slap on the wrist is sending them the wrong message. That girl was foolish to drink that much, but she didn't deserve to be raped.

If this contempt charge isn't dropped, that judge needs to be removed from the bench and disbarred.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I'm curious to see what the eventual outcome is. Are the charges against her thrown out by a sane judge? Do the two rapists have powerful family connections? Isn't 18 the legal age down there? So if they show pictures isn't that possession and distribution of child porn?
Rape is a crime that the victim rarely ever escapes from. So many women don't report it and as a man I cannot blame them for being afraid to report it.
Your judges are elected, aren't they? I'd think that public opinion would have some effect on the man or woman presiding over her case.
As for the Saudi Arabia comment, democracy does not automatically make all the citizens of a nation into great minds.

Some judges are elected and some aren't. In some countries, the woman or girl would be charged with adultery of fornication for being raped.

ETA: Apparently judges in KY are elected. http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Kentucky_judicial_elections,_2010

 

[gentledemands]

I live in an area where there is a large aboriginal population. A fifteen year old girl was raped and the jerk that did it got something like three months probation. It was odd. Several weeks later the guy turned up. He'd been castrated without anesthetic one night. It's a quiet little town now.

 

[Handley_Page]

I freely confess to being baffled:
" On June 26, the boys pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor voyeurism. Terms of their plea agreement were not released."

Why were they not charged with Rape ? What lilly-livered PC nonsense is this ?
Is a victim no longer permitted to name her attackers ?

 

[PennLady]

I freely confess to being baffled:
" On June 26, the boys pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor voyeurism. Terms of their plea agreement were not released."

Why were they not charged with Rape ? What lilly-livered PC nonsense is this ?
Is a victim no longer permitted to name her attackers ?

I've read some on this but I'm sure others out there know more, but here's what I've read in the last couple of days.

* There was a plea bargain, which included not releasing the boys' names. The girl was informed of this and of the penalties for it.

* She released the names anyway (and good for her) via Twitter. Contempt charges against her have been dropped.

* Various support accounts and petitions have popped on the internet for her.

Back to just me -- They may have originally been charged with rape, but probably because they were under 18, the charges were handled differently. It's really awful that people were concerned about the boys' future, reputations, etc., and not about hers after they had ruined hers. I had to wonder just how "secret" it was, since they had sent pictures of the assault out -- surely some of the original recipients knew who was sending the pics, etc.

What I find interesting is that in the articles I've read, they have not mentioned the attackers' names. I guess this is because the news organizations don't want to run afoul of any legal issues, and also b/c it's often US newspaper policy not to release the names of victims or defendants who are under 18, at least not until certain other things happen, I guess. So I found it odd and troubling that the victim's name is out there, yet even the places reporting on it won't release the attackers' names.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Update

The motion for contempt filed by the Defendants against the victim has been withdrawn. Click.

Now, for a little perspective. The two attackers were juveniles. Their cases were appropriately assigned to the juvenile court. Juvenile courts have been in existence in the US since 1899. Juvenile court proceedings are confidential. They are closed to the general public. The records are sealed. That is true in all types of juvenile cases.*

Juveniles charged with crimes who are convicted are not found "guilty." Instead, they are adjudicated "delinquent."

In order to enforce the confidentiality of the juvenile proceeding, as required by law, the judge issued a gag order. It is typical in juvenile cases.

When the court announced the entry of a plea agreement with the Defendants, the victim was outraged and willfully violated the gag order. She committed an indirect contempt of court.

One of the Defendants filed a motion to have her held in contempt. He had every right to do so.

After the issue became public, he withdrew his motion.

The young lady no longer faces a hearing or potential punishment.

The fault in this proceeding lies with the prosecutor, who apparently made the plea deal without consulting the victim.

I can't say whether the plea deal was sufficient, as we will never know the terms of the deal. However, there were problems with the case. The victim was drunk and passed out when the assault occurred. Her knowledge of the facts would have been of limited use to the trier of fact. I am not excusing the Defendants, only pointing out the problems with taking the case to trial.

Moreover, the Defendants would be reaching the age of 18 in less than a year. They would have been out of the system, and therefore beyond the reach of the court. The plea deal may have been the only way to bring them to some form of justice.
___

*Unless the juvenile is tried as an adult.

 

[PennLady]

Thanks, soflabbwlvr. I hope I didn't misstate anything. I was trying to go with what I knew and clearly state when it was my opinions.

I think we struggle with situations like this because although the victim and attackers are juveniles, they are so close to being adults, at least legally and chronologically. I think juvenile courts, etc., are a good idea, don't get me wrong. But I do think when you have these arbitrarily defined lines, there will be cases where things get fuzzy.

I had read, as you stated, that the plea deal and the gag order was reached without the victim's knowledge. I'm surprised she wasn't kept up to date on what was happening, just as a courtesy, I guess. Then again I guess I shouldn't be too surprised; no doubt the prosecutors are swamped with cases.

And stepping away from what's legal and what's not, it just seems blatantly unfair that while the victim's name is out there for all to see, the attackers' were not. But many things are unfair, I know. I just can't blame her for doing it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

You can find their names in the comments of many of the articles. When future employers look them up on the internet they will be linked to this crime... Also, more and more young people are getting used to checking out potential friends, dates, or mates that way.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Thanks, soflabbwlvr. I hope I didn't misstate anything. I was trying to go with what I knew and clearly state when it was my opinions.

I think we struggle with situations like this because although the victim and attackers are juveniles, they are so close to being adults, at least legally and chronologically. I think juvenile courts, etc., are a good idea, don't get me wrong. But I do think when you have these arbitrarily defined lines, there will be cases where things get fuzzy.

I had read, as you stated, that the plea deal and the gag order was reached without the victim's knowledge. I'm surprised she wasn't kept up to date on what was happening, just as a courtesy, I guess. Then again I guess I shouldn't be too surprised; no doubt the prosecutors are swamped with cases.

And stepping away from what's legal and what's not, it just seems blatantly unfair that while the victim's name is out there for all to see, the attackers' were not. But many things are unfair, I know. I just can't blame her for doing it.

Pennlady: Your facts are accurate and your opinions are valid. And I agree that 18 does seem like an arbitrary age. It almost creates a haven for 17 year olds to commit crimes. I think I recall a movie where the primary antagonist used a gang of 17 year olds to commit crimes since they were almost immune from punishment.

Nonetheless, as outrageous as this case appears at first blush, there is really nothing unusual about it. With the rise of social media, there will probably be more, not less of these cases in the future. And sadly, with court budgets being cut, more cases will end up being resolved through plea deals rather than going to trial.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Pennlady: Your facts are accurate and your opinions are valid. And I agree that 18 does seem like an arbitrary age. It almost creates a haven for 17 year olds to commit crimes. I think I recall a movie where the primary antagonist used a gang of 17 year olds to commit crimes since they were almost immune from punishment.

Nonetheless, as outrageous as this case appears at first blush, there is really nothing unusual about it. With the rise of social media, there will probably be more, not less of these cases in the future. And sadly, with court budgets being cut, more cases will end up being resolved through plea deals rather than going to trial.

And will end up in the public arena via twitter.

 

[PennLady]

Pennlady: Your facts are accurate and your opinions are valid. And I agree that 18 does seem like an arbitrary age. It almost creates a haven for 17 year olds to commit crimes. I think I recall a movie where the primary antagonist used a gang of 17 year olds to commit crimes since they were almost immune from punishment.

Nonetheless, as outrageous as this case appears at first blush, there is really nothing unusual about it. With the rise of social media, there will probably be more, not less of these cases in the future. And sadly, with court budgets being cut, more cases will end up being resolved through plea deals rather than going to trial.

Well you have to draw lines somewhere, and 18 is as good or bad as any, I guess. It's just that nothing will ever quite make things "fair," and that's just something we all have to deal with, I guess. As I said, it's terribly unfair that this girl was raped and pictures were then sent, and everyone knows who she was, yet the perpetrators were going to get off with very little consequences, so it appears.

I remember reading, years ago, a column about the value of "public shame," I guess you'd say. That in some ways, social stigmas on some behaviors resulted in less of that behavior. Part of me can't help but wonder if that shouldn't play in here -- let their names out because they should in fact be ashamed of what they did, and other young girls/women should know who they are. On the other hand, perhaps it is just unfair.

I think you and Stella are right, there will be more instances like this as people go so readily to social media and networking sites.

 

[Stella_Omega]

let their names out because they should in fact be ashamed of what they did, and other young girls/women should know who they are. On the other hand, perhaps it is just unfair.

Personally, I think that is totally fair.

The evopsych crowd claims that rape has a positive evolutionary factor-- that can only be true when the raped dare not take action, when society cannot learn who is and isn't a rapist.
Once women know that some guy is a violent piece of shit, his genes take a big dump in the carousel of life.

 

[PennLady]

Personally, I think that is totally fair.

The evopsych crowd claims that rape has a positive evolutionary factor-- that can only be true when the raped dare not take action, when society cannot learn who is and isn't a rapist.
Once women know that some guy is a violent piece of shit, his genes take a big dump in the carousel of life.

My last statement in the previous post wasn't a good one. I meant more that life is unfair in so many ways and perhaps this is one of them. But I totally agree that their names should be out there so that other women can protect themselves, and yes, that they should suffer the consequences of their actions.

 

[Handley_Page]

Ye gods !

" Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, said the motion to withdraw the contempt of court charge was "a huge victory not only for Ms. Dietrich, but for women all over the country."

Deitrich told The Courier-Journal that after the sexual assault, the boys posted photos of the attack on the Internet.

"These boys shared the picture of her being raped with their friends, and she can't share their names with her Twitter community? That's just crazy," O'Neill said. "

And the boys get away with it purely on age grounds ?

 

[Stella_Omega]

Ye gods !

" Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, said the motion to withdraw the contempt of court charge was "a huge victory not only for Ms. Dietrich, but for women all over the country."

Deitrich told The Courier-Journal that after the sexual assault, the boys posted photos of the attack on the Internet.

"These boys shared the picture of her being raped with their friends, and she can't share their names with her Twitter community? That's just crazy," O'Neill said. "

And the boys get away with it purely on age grounds ?

soflabblvr has explained a lot of this in two posts just upstream.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Thanks, soflabbwlvr. I hope I didn't misstate anything. I was trying to go with what I knew and clearly state when it was my opinions.

I think we struggle with situations like this because although the victim and attackers are juveniles, they are so close to being adults, at least legally and chronologically. I think juvenile courts, etc., are a good idea, don't get me wrong. But I do think when you have these arbitrarily defined lines, there will be cases where things get fuzzy.

I had read, as you stated, that the plea deal and the gag order was reached without the victim's knowledge. I'm surprised she wasn't kept up to date on what was happening, just as a courtesy, I guess. Then again I guess I shouldn't be too surprised; no doubt the prosecutors are swamped with cases.

And stepping away from what's legal and what's not, it just seems blatantly unfair that while the victim's name is out there for all to see, the attackers' were not. But many things are unfair, I know. I just can't blame her for doing it.

I agree that it is unfair the two men who raped her are not going to face any legal consequences for it, and that is unfair. They should probably go to prison until they are at least 21 years old.

As for her name being known, she made it known herself, and I don't blame her. The names of the guys are known too, at least around their school and town, and will continue to become better known as others are informed. They are not at all ashamed of what they did, or they would not have made the pictures or videotape available.

And, their male buddies will probably look up to them for what they did, because that's the way teenage boys are. However, the girls, who will know of their actions should have nothing to do with them. Shunning can be a very effective form of punishment.

 

[Stella_Omega]

This will follow the boys forever


Within the comments from the slate.com article, I find this tidbit;

The prosecutor is a Trinity High School alum. He brokered the sweet deal for these Trinity seniors. (he seeks monetary gifts for Trinity here on their alumni site - http://trinityforever.ning.com/profile/PAULWRICHWALSKYJR?xg_source=profiles_memberList

He is also chief prosecutor for the Juvenile Division of the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office. The state Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice is a financial supporter of the young mens' team, Bluegrass Bats Lacrosse Club. When you go to their website, http://www.bluegrassbats.com, go to their donor page and you will see them listed there; THEN go to the webpage for the Dept of Juvenile Justice, http://djj.ky.gov/ , click on "Grants" - it lists the names of the Grants Management Group (GMG) personnel. One of them is Laura McCoun McCauley, apparently supporting her son’s team by steering State taxpayer funds. Go back to the Bluegrass Bats website and look at the names of the players. Low and behold, there is Ryan McCauley! He is a defenseman and also attends Trinity High School, just like the 2 rapists and just like the prosecutor! So is there ANY POSSIBLE tie between the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice financially supporting this 'rich boys team' AND being involved with the Juvenile court system AND these rapists getting a slap on the wrist?

What a surprise!

 

[soflabbwlvr]

This will follow the boys forever


Within the comments from the slate.com article, I find this tidbit;


What a surprise!

That was enlightening. Now I understand how the victim was cut out of the plea negotiation.

 

[Handley_Page]

This will follow the boys forever


Within the comments from the slate.com article, I find this tidbit;


What a surprise!

Well, well, well. We get this sort of thing occasionally as well, but maybe not quite so high a profile case.

Over here, the story would go that, regardless of their academic achievements, suddenly the family would not be invited to some function or event (they'd be off several Christmas Card lists, as well). The lads would find not so many doors open to them as they get older, and life would be a little harder for them and the family. By comparison, they'd struggle.


It's slow, but it often works. . .

 

[Stella_Omega]

This would never have had a profile at all, if the young lady had been properly cowed into silence.