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."
I don't know anything about this case. However...whenever nearly everyone involved in a situation like this is on one side, and an article is published that makes it seem like all of those people are out of their minds...generally, there is a lot more to the story.
Is it more likely that an entire community is cool with raping a young girl OR is it more likely that a single reporter is trying to break a huge story by selectively including/omitting critical details? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
I don't know anything about this case. However...whenever nearly everyone involved in a situation like this is on one side, and an article is published that makes it seem like all of those people are out of their minds...generally, there is a lot more to the story.
Is it more likely that an entire community is cool with raping a young girl OR is it more likely that a single reporter is trying to break a huge story by selectively including/omitting critical details?
I would say the Sheiffs comments seem to paint a pretty good picture that they thought they had a pretty good case.. They had video/confessions/Sheriffs stating it was a air tight case. I remember hearing about this awhile back, but never heard anyone defending the rapist. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
I don't know anything about this case. However...whenever nearly everyone involved in a situation like this is on one side, and an article is published that makes it seem like all of those people are out of their minds...generally, there is a lot more to the story.
Is it more likely that an entire community is cool with raping a young girl OR is it more likely that a single reporter is trying to break a huge story by selectively including/omitting critical details?
This is the same area where a man was shot in broad daylight with over 30 witnesses and no one was ever prosecuted because the witnesses wouldn't speak.
Originally Posted by Cave Johnson:
Which has ****all to do with statutory rape.
I'm saying the state laws are stupid. If he can be persecuted for statutory that great, do it! But the town let him walk. I'm saying that if he is a minor in the legal sense, that is, below the age of 18 which is where most if not all the people in the US say is when a minor becomes an adult, then go after his parents too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
This is the same area where a man was shot in broad daylight with over 30 witnesses and no one was ever prosecuted because the witnesses wouldn't speak.
This is also the same area where a pregnant woman was kidnapped, the baby was cut out of her and the mother was left to die.
Maryville and the towns that surround it are filled with weird people.
Both of those incidents happened in Skidmore Missouri. Bobbie Jo wasn't kidnapped, but murdered in her own home. McElroy got what was coming to him from a community that was terrorized by him and his family [Reply]
Originally Posted by oh_snap:
Not saying rape is okay. It clearly is not. But what the hell is a 14 year old doing at a party, and why the hell did she get black out drunk? We can talk peer pressure, but no one made her get drunk (unless we're talking roofie drunk).
Back in college, I can remember false calls of rape happening a lot. Girls get drunk, sleep with someone they wouldn't normally sleep with, then cry rape the day after. Happened to a mate of mine. Nearly ruined his life as well. Then the girls story unraveled and she admitted finally that it was consensual.
Anyways, clearly a 14 year old shouldn't be out partying and drinking and getting drunk. You're just asking for trouble. Strong parenting.
You didn't read the story, but people like you that blame the rape victim for being raped can DIAF. [Reply]
One my best friends worked as a part time deputy sheriff in Nodaway County while he getting his degree at NWMSU. His opinion of the locals was not good. [Reply]
Originally Posted by stonedstooge:
Both of those incidents happened in Skidmore Missouri. Bobbie Jo wasn't kidnapped, but murdered in her own home. McElroy got what was coming to him from a community that was terrorized by him and his family
So there was more to each of those stories than what a one-sided comment included? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Saul Good:
So there was more to each of those stories than what a one-sided comment included?
I've ready about this story after it happened since Maryville and St. Joe have some ties Maryville shit gets reported down here. The facts haven't changed in the last 2 years one bit as far as I've read.
I'm not sure what more there might be.
That’s when Melinda Coleman called 911, setting off a law enforcement response that Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White is proud of, saying they had the boys’ “videotaped confessions” wrapped up that day.
Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White outside the jail in Maryville, Mo
“I was actually pretty happy with it because we had what I considered to be a very serious crime and within a matter of a few hours, we had warrants for their arrest and they'd been arrested,” he said. “That's a pretty good day.”
In Missouri, 17-year-olds are considered to be adults in the criminal justice system. So Barnett was charged with a felony for sexual assault and a misdemeanor for child endangerment. The underage boy with Daisy’s friend also admitted he forced her into sex and was charged in the juvenile system. [Reply]
Originally Posted by stonedstooge:
Both of those incidents happened in Skidmore Missouri. Bobbie Jo wasn't kidnapped, but murdered in her own home. McElroy got what was coming to him from a community that was terrorized by him and his family
I changed the kidnapped to murdered. I said the same area because Skidmore and Maryville are about 15 minutes apart and both in the middle of no where.
The people of the Nodaway County in Missouri are creepy fucking people. [Reply]
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
I changed the kidnapped to murdered. I said the same area because Skidmore and Maryville are about 15 minutes apart and both in the middle of no where.
The people of the Nodaway County in Missouri are creepy ****ing people.
It's sort of like Deliverance placed in Missouri. [Reply]