And wasn't prosecuted (probably) because the rapist's family was politically connected. There's no excuse for at least statutory under the facts as presented. Also. dude should probably avoid saying rape-y things on social media if he's still within the statute of limitations.
Originally Posted by :
Here's a depressing story that will bring back memories of the Steubenville rape case. It begins with a 14-year-old drunk girl getting dumped on her porch by the high school football player who had just allegedly raped her, and it ends with her family being driven out of town by an unsupportive community.
A horrifying story out of Missouri: A mother was run out of a small town after her daughter blacked out at a party filled with older high school athletes and was left, with clear marks of rape, on the front lawn of her home in freezing weather.
The Kansas City Star details how the small town of Maryville turned against a newly-arrived family after 14-year-old Daisy Coleman reported that an older athlete had sex with her while another older male videotaped, after she was given an alcoholic drink at a party that left her barely able to stand. Her friend, a 13-year-old, was also made to have non-consensual sex.
After a thorough investigation by the local police however, clearly implicating 17-year-old Matthew Barnett in the sexual assault, charges were inexplicably dropped by the prosecuting attorney. Barnett, coincidentally, is the grandson of a prominent former Missouri state representative.
Star reporter Dugan Arnett writes,
Sexual assault cases can be difficult to build because of factors such as a lack of physical evidence or inconsistent statements by witnesses. But by the time his department had concluded its investigation, Sheriff Darren White felt confident the office had put together a case that would “absolutely” result in prosecutions.
“Within four hours, we had obtained a search warrant for the house and executed that,” White told The Star. “We had all of the suspects in custody and had audio/video confessions.
“I would defy the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department to do what we did and get it wrapped up as nicely as we did in that amount of time.”
But no prosecutions ever came. The charges were dropped by the prosecuting attorney who didn't believe the evidence was strong enough. He dismissed any idea that political influence had anything to do with his decision.
In the meantime, the town had already begun to turn on the Coleman family. Threatening phone calls and online threats were directed at the family. Melinda Coleman had moved to the town with her four children after her husband, a physician, had died in a car accident. She was easily targeted by the community for being an outsider.
The parent of one of the teens at the Barnett house that night was the only one to comment briefly to The Star: “Our boys deserve an apology, and they haven’t gotten it yet.”
In a later interview, Rice [the prosecuting attorney] called it a case of “incorrigible teenagers” drinking alcohol and having sex. “They were doing what they wanted to do, and there weren’t any consequences. And it’s reprehensible. But is it criminal? No.”
Robert Sundell, who represented Barnett, echoed that sentiment: “Just because we don’t like the way teenagers act doesn’t necessarily make it a crime.”
After the charges were dropped, things just got worse for Melinda and Daisy Coleman. Daisy has struggled with depression and attempted suicide. Melinda had to move away from Maryville and back to the town she had lived in with her now-deceased husband. In April, the house in Maryville she still owned burned down under mysterious circumstances.
And Matthew Barnett, the young man accused by Coleman of raping her? He's attending the University of Central Missouri and apparently having a great time:
In a recent retweet, he expressed his views on women — and their desire for his sexual attentions — this way:
“If her name begins with A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z, she wants the D."
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
The one where the police do an investigation of an alleged rape and the criminal justice system puts the rapists in prison for a long time.
That works only when the rapists actually get put in prison. When the charges get dropped without explanation, and the Sheriff changes his story, something is not working correctly. [Reply]
Originally Posted by otherstar:
That works only when the rapists actually get put in prison. When the charges get dropped without explanation, and the Sheriff changes his story, something is not working correctly.
Which is the exact plan that didn't work, hence why anonymous has to do the legwork.
Originally Posted by TravelingChiefs:
I've got a buddy that helped open the prison there. He got into it with a few of the cops there then went and talk to the chief about it. After that he would get pulled over 2-3 times a day on his 3 mile drive to work. He said they are all corrupt n a bunch of scumbags.
Originally Posted by beach tribe:
Say hello to 95% of American police forces.
I just heard a radio feature last night in fact about a town in CA that decided to experiment and record all their officers interactions with the public. This included video and audio from the cruiser as well as directly on the officer - if riding with a partner only 1 officer wore the recording device.
I can't remember the time period they compared the results, but in the first month of them self recording:
Police complaints dropped from 24 on average to 3. ( -80% )
Incidents where use of force occurred went from an average of 60 to 17. ( -71.7% )
- even more interesting is the fact that the officer that was wearing the self recording equipment in over 2/3 of these incidents wasn't the one that would engage in the use of force- his partner would. [Reply]