Anyone following the Anon v. Steubenville, Ohio HS rapist story making it's way around today?

I suspect that you are one of the last motherfuckers around here who ought to be lecturing anyone on chipped shoulders. That being said, I can see the error in my interpretation of your posts. However, I'm pretty certain that my assumptions were fair assumptions to make (and also that assumptions are a necessary part of communication, so getting in a tizzy about their mere existence to me seems kind of fucking ridiculous), given that you rebutted something I said by responding to something I hadn't said. So despite your feigned victimization, I have a hard time feeling any sympathy for you regarding my 'assumptions'.

 

The people getting victimized here ain't you and me, bub. And since I never asked for your sympathy or anything else from you, [shrug].

Let's start with some facts. The victim didn't realize there was the possibility of an assault until she was informed by others via social media the next day. To the best of my knowledge, even Anonymous doesn't know what was done to her, if in fact anything was done. There's a lot of conjecture and circumstantial evidence that points to the idea that some things might have been done to her, but it's also entirely possible that nothing happened. Or that the two bad actors were the only ones who did any of the actual raping. And remember that they were arrested before Anonymous got involved.

What seems to have been lost in all of this is that a significant portion of the greater community (Steubenville and the West Virginia town across the river) have come down opposing the victim. Perhaps that's the "protect the team" mentality or something altogether different. It's not often that you see people publicly ridiculing someone who's allegedly been a victim of rape. That could go a long way to explaining why Anonymous felt the need to get involved, or it could be that there's evidence that has yet to be revealed.

One last parting shot: who here decided that the members of the Duke lacrosse team were guilty? And who's remembering that now?

 

Steubenville Facts

You better hurry up and look at this site before Anonymous takes it down or changes it.

It seems like Anonymous found the video...maybe not of the actual crime, they were smart enough not to film it I guess, but the pictures and what was said isn't very convincing that nothing happened either. I do wonder if a rape kit was performed or a medical examination would bring up any evidence that isn't public right now.

The wheels of justice move way too slowly... There should be a two month time from when the crime occurs until sentencing. And the fact is that without the media and Anonymous making this information known, nobody would have cared and the case probably would have been dismissed, even if they did do all of the alleged things.

And yes, proving rape isn't easy. And even being accused of rape will tarnish your name. Caution has to be taken, but the offenders have to be punished on both sides (rapists and false accusers). Also state laws have to be updated, since she was single and unconscious, it might not have been a crime a few years ago in California or Idaho... 'Arcane' 1872 California law cited in overturning rape conviction - CNN.com

(unrelated to this, people always bitch about "Chicago Style politics", yet in small towns and in cases like this where the legal system doesn't have too much outside oversight to make sure they are doing the right thing it happens way too much. From crimes to fraud to environmental interests...)

 

Between this and the Sandusky case, I think we need to look at the root causes and give significant consideration to the idea of banning football entirely.

 

There are a few schools that don't have football teams, and I think I would have liked it better. There was a story on 60 Minutes about it.

 

The game doesn't commit or condone. There are evil characters in all walks. Any situation where cronyism and favoritism thrive can be a breeding ground. Once entrenched and comfortable, some people think they can do anything with impunity. If they get away with it once, the system goes into a perpetual state of "cover your ass" and they're free to escalate their behavior. It doesn't matter if it's business, politics, religion, sports.... or even the local PTA or Boy Scout troop, bad people do bad things if they think they can get away with it.

That being said, there still isn't a full accounting of the events. There are a lot of disturbing information and implications. It's hard not to jump to conclusions, but I'm trying.

 

Clearly we need to get rid of Catholicism, uncles of all types, stepfathers and Boy Scouts.

 

Right. How could I have forgotten?

Somewhere Jonathon Swift has a giant otherworldly boner.

 

I just can't fathom how a group of kids could do something like this. How is this some kind of kneeslapping house party event? In-jokes on twitter! Nothing like a good old bit of violation to get the party going! Just...???????????? You know? What? How?

I think the_jazz makes a very valid point about this bollocksing up any possibility of a fair trial. But their lawyers should be able to argue that pretty easily anyway, and you can be sure in the event of a conviction that this'll go straight to appeals and probably be overturned, and that's on anonymous, 100%. You've sentenced them to life in the court of public opinion, good work chaps, but does it really help matters in the actual criminal justice system? Does it even work like that? I suspect probably not. Of course there'll be a lot of scrutiny, but a lot of scrutiny doesn't necessarily = the outcomes that people want, whatever those are.

Assuming what is alleged actually happened (there is no way I am watching a video of some moron wisecracking about rape for 10+ minutes either way), I hope that anonymous has served to make the relevant brats realise that what they did is utterly abhorrent. That has to be the very least of what comes out of all of this. If this didn't really happen, this business with anonymous is problematic in the extreme, but given the way the community has rallied around these kids, it's not the end of the world for them in this case. But in different circumstances with a different set of people and a different mentality surrounding it all, it absolutely could be and you can't discount that completely.

 

I find it odd that the age of consent in Ohio is 16, yet, if you are accused of sexual assault at that age, you are treated like a child. You are mature enough to decide to have sex, but too immature to be responsible when you force your decision on an unwilling individual.

Yes, sexual assault is more about the assault than the sex. But I still think these guys should be prosecuted as adults.

 

Teenage boys are like that if the opportunity presents itself and there is a lot of peer pressure, especially from a sports team, you will go along with the rest of them. And there is no good answer for some of them in their mind, either you don't do it and your buddies think you are gay and you are still part of the cover up (or a snitch on your teammates), or you do her and the law might come down on you.

Now, where are the parents in all of this, and how did they get the drugs or alcohol to make her pass out is another crime.

 

I would be more inclined to agree with you if there was some indication that those accused understood the seriousness of their actions. It was reported that they declared to their coach that they didn't believe they did anything wrong. If they stick to this story and the allegations are proven true, I doubt that they will suddenly grown a conscience on their 18th birthdays. How do you rehabilitate them if their records are sealed and they take a walk at 18?

 

But the decision to treat them as juveniles limits how the court can treat them. As I understand things, pursuing adult charges leaves open the option to return the case to Juvenile Court if the investigation leads the prosecutors to that conclusion. I don't think the reverse is true. I don't have any specific knowledge of Ohio law, though. I'm open to refining my opinion if contrary information gets brought to my attention.

As for the parents, coaches and local authorities, if there were some way to charge them as accessories, I'd push it hard.