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 Anyong Bluth:
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.
I'd be interested to see if there was any change in crime rate during this period. I have no idea but would be interested... [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
I'd be interested to see if there was any change in crime rate during this period. I have no idea but would be interested...
I'll preface my comments as saying it's definitely not an easy job and there are plenty of quality, committed guys in the field just doing their job. But, over cite can help remedy some issues and in the long run be a benefit. Less negative incidents can improve community and public opinion and make their jobs easier if the general attitude is not one of hostility or combative with a local police department.
I find things absurd like a potential cadet being denied entrance to the police academy because he scored too highly on the test that they argued because he tested too high in estimated intelligence. I'm not even kidding- they reasoned that individuals with above average intelligence would make bad candidates because they were worried that their higher intelligence would mean they would become bored with their work and more likely to quit to pursue other job opportunities. On appeal, the courts upheld this hiring and selection process because it didn't discriminate against any protected class, and was a "neutral" factor for admissions into the academy.
Apparently, the data shows that officers as a profession have an average to slightly lower level of intelligence with a score of around 100 - 107.
It baffles me that you would want to "weed out" brighter people, as if they would not possibly be an asset in higher levels of administration and a police organization???
Totally shocked me to find out about this hiring practice, and I think it's absurd. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth:
I'll preface my comments as saying it's definitely not an easy job and there are plenty of quality, committed guys in the field just doing their job. But, over cite can help remedy some issues and in the long run be a benefit. Less negative incidents can improve community and public opinion and make their jobs easier if the general attitude is not one of hostility or combative with a local police department.
I find things absurd like a potential cadet being denied entrance to the police academy because he scored too highly on the test that they argued because he tested too high in estimated intelligence. I'm not even kidding- they reasoned that individuals with above average intelligence would make bad candidates because they were worried that their higher intelligence would mean they would become bored with their work and more likely to quit to pursue other job opportunities. On appeal, the courts upheld this hiring and selection process because it didn't discriminate against any protected class, and was a "neutral" factor for admissions into the academy.
Apparently, the data shows that officers as a profession have an average to slightly lower level of intelligence with a score of around 100 - 107.
It baffles me that you would want to "weed out" brighter people, as if they would not possibly be an asset in higher levels of administration and a police organization???
Totally shocked me to find out about this hiring practice, and I think it's absurd.
That's wild.
And I have no problem with reasonable oversight... [Reply]
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.
So the plan for when that "plan" failed is that plan? Are you Captain Obvious, no shit that "plan" didn't work, that's my point is instead of relying on Anonymous to do something about it when that happens the people that live there need to.
And yes I'm aware that plenty of the people there helped to try and cover it up/abuse the victim even more.
Originally Posted by hometeam:
This.
See above. Not sure what I was supposed to do since I don't live there and had no idea about this.
Originally Posted by Third Eye:
Yeah, some folks aren't big on actually reading the threads.
I hope that wasn't directed at me. For far too many people on here they suck at comprehension so badly that it doesn't matter if they read it or not. [Reply]
Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic:
It's just hard to believe the extent that town went out of its way to protect that douchebag. That entire town should be boycotted.
So punish the entire town for what a few people in key positions did? Both my kids live in Maryville and had nothing to do with the act or supposed cover up. So they need punished? [Reply]
Originally Posted by stonedstooge:
So punish the entire town for what a few people in key positions did? Both my kids live in Maryville and had nothing to do with the act or supposed cover up. So they need punished?
Originally Posted by stonedstooge:
So punish the entire town for what a few people in key positions did? Both my kids live in Maryville and had nothing to do with the act or supposed cover up. So they need punished?
Yep. Their compliance and tolerance enable these fuckbags to get away with this shit. Clean up your backyard or have someone else do it for you. Simple choice.
Fuck that town anyway. It's a backwoods burg. A boil on a warthog's ass. Turn it into a nuclear waste dump for all I care. Any community that allows a miscarriage of justice of this nature deserves to burn. Small town America, where everybody knows everybody else. They know the shit that is going on and not doing a fucking thing about it. Why? Because FOOTBALL! Fuck'em.
This is the sort of shit you,expect to hear coming from a town in the mountains of Afghanistan. Think on that shit for a second. This is some third world fucking bullshit here. Burn the fucking town to cinders. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RaiderH8r:
Yep. Their compliance and tolerance enable these ****bags to get away with this shit. Clean up your backyard or have someone else do it for you. Simple choice.
**** that town anyway. It's a backwoods burg. A boil on a warthog's ass. Turn it into a nuclear waste dump for all I care. Any community that allows a miscarriage of justice of this nature deserves to burn. Small town America, where everybody knows everybody else. They know the shit that is going on and not doing a ****ing thing about it. Why? Because FOOTBALL! ****'em.
This is the sort of shit you,expect to hear coming from a town in the mountains of Afghanistan. Think on that shit for a second. This is some third world ****ing bullshit here. Burn the ****ing town to cinders.
Originally Posted by RaiderH8r:
Yep. Their compliance and tolerance enable these ****bags to get away with this shit. Clean up your backyard or have someone else do it for you. Simple choice.
**** that town anyway. It's a backwoods burg. A boil on a warthog's ass. Turn it into a nuclear waste dump for all I care. Any community that allows a miscarriage of justice of this nature deserves to burn. Small town America, where everybody knows everybody else. They know the shit that is going on and not doing a ****ing thing about it. Why? Because FOOTBALL! ****'em.
This is the sort of shit you,expect to hear coming from a town in the mountains of Afghanistan. Think on that shit for a second. This is some third world ****ing bullshit here. Burn the ****ing town to cinders.
That seems pretty dumb. What do you want them to do start a lynch mob? [Reply]
Originally Posted by themanwithnoname:
So the plan for when that "plan" failed is that plan? Are you Captain Obvious, no shit that "plan" didn't work, that's my point is instead of relying on Anonymous to do something about it when that happens the people that live there need to.
The people of Maryville did do something about it. They harassed her and her family to the point that they have to move away from the city.
Anonymous did nothing more than provide publicity on a worldwide scale so that the people and government of Maryville are held accountable for the actions of its people. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth:
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.
Originally Posted by blaise:
That seems pretty dumb. What do you want them to do start a lynch mob?
Start by running the prosecutor and Sheriff the fuck out of town in their next election. Or begin the petition process to have them dismissed for cause. I'd give you more but the county website is down so I don't know what rules and regs they have in place for holding officials accountable. I assure you though, they exist. The fact that nobody in that pisswood burg has done shit speaks volumes. They have done literally nothing except go out of their way to run these people out of town to protect a POS that, by all admitted accounts, left her to fucking freeze. Fuck him. Fuck them. Burn the town to cinders and turn it into a parking lot. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RaiderH8r:
Start by running the prosecutor and Sheriff the **** out of town in their next election. Or begin the petition process to have them dismissed for cause. I'd give you more but the county website is down so I don't know what rules and regs they have in place for holding officials accountable. I assure you though, they exist. The fact that nobody in that pisswood burg has done shit speaks volumes. They have done literally nothing except go out of their way to run these people out of town to protect a POS that, by all admitted accounts, left her to ****ing freeze. **** him. **** them. Burn the town to cinders and turn it into a parking lot.
Well, you're part of the larger community of the United States so go down there and get something done. [Reply]
Daisy Coleman says when she was 14 she was drugged and sexually assaulted in Maryville.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate allegations that a 14-year-old cheerleader was sexually assaulted by an older classmate who plied her with alcohol.
Daisy Coleman also alleges that a second 17-year-old boy recorded the January 2012 incident in Maryville using cellphone video.
Circuit court clerk Elaine Wilson says Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has taken on the case.
RELATED: MISSOURI TEEN WRITES ABOUT ALLEGEDLY BEING RAPED
Felony charges against both boys were dropped last year after Nodaway County prosecutor Robert Rice says Daisy and her family stopped cooperating with the investigation.
Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has taken on the Maryville rape case.
Mike Ransdell/AP
Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has taken on the Maryville rape case.
Melinda Coleman, Daisy's mother, says the family never stopped cooperating but looks forward to answering questions in a new review of the case.
Officials in the county are planning to close county offices Tuesday because of a planned rally related to the case.
RELATED: SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SOUGHT IN CASE OF RAPED MISSOURI TEEN
Nodaway County Clerk Beth Walker says the courthouse and county administrative building are being closed. Walker says law enforcement officers will maintain some kind of presence around the buildings during the rally.
At least two activist groups, including one called "Justice for Daisy," have called for the protest, which is to begin at 6 p.m.