Prosecutors Arrest Rape Victim for Failure to Show up at Trial!

by Diest 51 Replies latest jw friends

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  still thinking

  He MUST go to jail?

  Have you seen the statistics for that?

  Instead of focussing on making a young girl testify...when she doesn't want to.

  Why don't we focus on why so many offenders are able to walk away free...with no conviction? Maybe, if the court system was better there would be less offenders out there raping women. But putting it all on this yong girl is ridiculous. The justice system is the failure, NOT HER.

  And, as New Chapter pointed out. Becuase of this, more women will not report this type of crime. If we can't protect the victims and treat them like criminals. What sort of justice system is that? When we let 97% of offenders walk after these brave women have stood up to be counted we have to look at the system and say it is fundamentally flawed.

  This young girl is a scapegoat...and people who believe it ok that she is treated this way need to wake up and smell reality.
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  still thinking

  YOU are missing the point Witness007....rapists are ALL serial rapists.

  97% of them walk free even after women take it to court.

  Who is really allowing criminals to walk free? It's not that young girl from where I am standing.
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  NewChapter

  YOU are missing the point Witness007....rapists are ALL serial rapists.

  Absolutely---and now many more will walk free. Threaten victims with jail, and that's going to get the desired results? This girl should have been handled like fragile china so that she could be strong enough---obviously that did not happen----so they put her in jail.

  They know who he is. Let them do their job and follow him now since they've botched up taking care of the best witness.
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  Witness 007

  Discusting crime, and I think men like that should be castrated then shot in the back of the head.
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  Justitia Themis

  TEC the law is that you have to show up, but not that you have to testify

  Actually, a person must do both. If you do not appear, a warrant for your arrest can be issued. The police will bring you in to testify based on that warrant. If you refuse to testify, you can be held in contempt of court and thrown in jail until you decide to testify. If a witness pleads "the Fifth" and the prosecutor waives their prosecution, they must testify or be in contempt.

  As a material witness, she is being given very special treatment--probably better than she would receive at her foster home--and she is not being treated like a criminal. Plus, considering her age and location (I'm originally from Sacramento), I doubt she is as 'fragile' as her advocates are portraying. Lastly, as multiple media sites have documented, this type of action doesn't happen that often with minors. Prosecutors are more aware of issues with rape victims than anyone on this board, with the exception of those who have been assaulted. The combination of that knowledge and their inability (Rule of Professional Conduct) to speak freely concerning pending cases leads me to suspect that there is more going on than is being, or can be, reported to the media at this time.

  Addendum: Remember too that a prosecutor must ask for a material witness warrant, but it is ultimately the judge who grants or denys it based on the evidence. The judge in this case was my daughter's boss when she was at the Sacramento office of the U.S. Department of Justice, and he is an incredibly nice man.
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  NewChapter

  Fragile in the sense that this girl is in foster care, likely at high risk, and already a victim before this crime happened. I don't think she is weepy or delicate, but i do recognize that her life has already been incredibly difficult. Now she is being told to witness against a white supremist, and she is savvy enough to know that their are likely consequences to this.

  And are we saying that just because someone is from Sacramento she should not be treated carefully after being attacked? Should she be treated less so than children from other areas? I'm just not sure where this is going. It's an interesting twist. I had a friend who was discouraged from testifying against her rapist because she was 'street wise' (translation: not a virgin) and would be ripped apart in court. Now we say that if someone is 'street wise' they may not be just as hurt and broken by such a crime?

  Oh well---she was a throw away----i guess it's better to destroy her than someone of value.

  NC
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  Justitia Themis

  ...not sure how long ago your friend was told "not to testify," but we have had rape-shield laws that prohibit any questions concerning the victim's sex life for about 15 years or so now.

  I simply consider the girl's story suspect. Just be thankful you can hire people (prosecutors) to do your dirty work so you can pontificate on a discussion board because if this story causes you this amount of angst, you wouldn't last a week if you had to make the no-win decisions these prosecutors make on a daily basis.

  As I said, the judge too saw something, or he never would have issued the warrant. In addition, these warrants have to be re-examined every ten days or so.
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  NewChapter

  This was the eighties. I have a daughter. I will pontificate at will, and I will feel protective of any child rape victim regardless of where she is from or how hardened she may appear. I certainly won't offer up her area as an excuse not to treat her as a very hurt victim. There are victims watching this. What if they have doubts about being able to go through the entire process, but they are willing to give it a try? Well the message is that if they come forward and get very scared, they will be put in jail. This is a good day for rapists.

  NC
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  Justitia Themis

  Well...there you go. Prosecutors were key in getting those laws passed.

  Pontificate away. News flash: these kids get offered up all the time. Her life was bad; nothing will change that. Nevertheless, she isn't being "offered up" any more than the other adult witness who is waiting to testify. She's 17, not 12. She has nothing more to fear than the other witness. I simply don't buy her story.

  BTW, I have two daughters, and I am a rape victim. ; )
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  NewChapter

  Is the other adult witness being held in jail and forced to testify? 17 can be quite young, and I don't believe this girl has a great support system because she is in the system. I can't help but picture my daughter in this situation, and I can't help but feel protective. I think this is a bad move, and I do believe it will scare other young witnesses. It is already quite difficult, and this added threat is beyond what I can even grasp. What is it about the girl's story you don't believe? Do you think she did not become afraid, or that the crime didn't happen?

  NC