<p>I agree with video being useful. However, I doubt the one filming had that in mind. Most likely, his intention was a YouTube video.</p>
<p>I thought it interesting that he hid and provided the video to the lawyer instead of the police. He might have been worried that the police would destroy the video evidence - something that you could certainly appreciate if you followed the Duke Lacrosse Case.</p>
<p>More information has come to light. The young woman’s name and photo are both public. She lied supposedly about being raped as she was afraid her boyfriend would find out about the sexual encounter she had with these other guys. She may face criminal charges. </p>
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<p>[Hofstra</a> Student Could Face Criminal Charges for Rape Allegations - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,552041,00.html?test=latestnews]Hofstra”>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,552041,00.html?test=latestnews)</p>
<p>So the video shows that she agrees to do it with the first guy. How about the others? Does the phone camera take that lenghty of video? My D’s cell phone takes up to 30 seconds video.</p>
<p>An iPhone comes with up to 32 GB of memory. You could record quite a bit with that amount of memory.</p>
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<p>She admitted that the charges were false when she was told that there might be a video. The stories that I’ve read don’t indicate that the prosecutors saw the video - just that the lawyer had seen them and communicated that to the police and prosecutors. The teens might not want to give the police the video for their own privacy reasons. The prosecutors got a confession without the video so there is no real need for the police or prosecutors to have a copy. I would assume a plea deal if they do decide to prosecute.</p>
<p>I guess I am one of those moms who only gives the very basic to her children 
Nonetheless, if it was my son or daughter, I don’t think I could ever look at them in the face again. Very sad story.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if the whole episode is on video since the young woman is admitting that her claims were false and in fact, gave a reason for making the false claim (didn’t want her BF to find out about her voluntary sexual encounter).</p>
<p>It’s disgusting on both their parts not to mention, their names are publicized for all the world to see. Does anyone think about future employment or whether this information would surface years from now at an inopportune time (say when they’re trying to raise children).</p>
<p>Laws in general haven’t provided much support for those accused or convicted and later found to be innocent. Some states do provide support, in some cases substantial for those convicted. I don’t think that there is much, if any, support for those arrested without cause. The civil courts are the area of redress for these wrongs but you may have a false accuser that has no assets. In the Duke Lacrosse case, you have the expenditures of multiple millions of dollars as the result of someone that wasn’t in a position to be able to pay for all of the damage that she did.</p>
<p>Feminists changed the scales of justice on rape laws because they felt that the relative positions between rapists and their victims were imbalanced. Perhaps they were. But changing the balance has made it easier for false accusations or improper accusations and lineups to result in arrest and conviction. Paradoxically, what the feminists have done
in changing the balance may actually result in fewer convictions of actual rapists.</p>
<p>What I thought interesting is that one of the prosecutors that interviewed the accuser in the Hofstra case was an expert in sexual crimes. It seems to me that they have to be good at examining real sexual assault cases and also experts at telling when the accuser isn’t telling the truth.</p>
<p>BCEagle, </p>
<p>I must admit to some irritation in your post above with regard to “feminists” on the topic of rape. It seems you are blaming this on feminists!?!? One doesn’t have to be a feminist to understand that in most rape cases, the victim is the woman, not the man. Women are the ones who generally need protection in the justice system for rapes. Yes, it is horrible when there is a false accusation. That is also a crime. More rape cases,however, are not false accusation, than ones that are. And yes, false accusations hurt the case for women. But let’s remember, that many rapists are not convicted because a woman is afraid to bring charges or else doesn’t want to live through the trial and so forth. Clearly, when it comes to rape, more women are victims than men! For starters, it is hard for a woman to rape a man. Secondly, false accusations are a crime but are not as prevalent as true rape cases. </p>
<p>I see feminism having NOTHING to do with this. Men should care about rape crimes and women as victims as much as any woman cares about this issue. Most men have mothers, sisters, and/or daughters. This is not an issue pertaining to feminists.</p>
<p>I actually see BC’s point. The ability to make false accusations hurts the women that actually have been raped. Each time a false accusation comes up, causes the next case to be looked even closer. This hurts the woman that has been raped. </p>
<p>I did not see their post at all about women raping men, but how laws created to reduce what a woman must go through for pressing rape charges, has made it easier for false accusations. The woman who make false accusations like Tawana Brawley, Duke case and this case, now have created a suspicion of doubt, and thus the real rape victim has to go through much more to prove that she is not placing a false accusation. That is how feminism hurt women. That is why women are likely not to report it, because they fear that their story will not be accepted as truthful, and they do not want to relive the pain over again. It is not right, but it is a reality. It used to be back in the days women would blame themselves that they brought it on somehow, that idea seems to have been replaced with they won’t believe me. You must ask why, any woman would feel that way? Could it be that, a few of our own misguided sex caused this problem? These women did more damage to the rape issue than feminist, but some over zealous feminists picked up their banner and caused just as much damage by believing in the accused guilt before getting the facts. </p>
<p>I might be wrong, but that’s what I saw BC’s point as being…I didn’t see anything about them saying women were raping men.</p>
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<p>I’ve read statistics and research that says that false accusations run from 6% to over 50%. There is obviously a lot of disagreement on the rate of false accusation.</p>
<p>Secondly, the penalties for the false reporting of a crime are trivial compared to those for being convicted of the crime.</p>
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<p>I didn’t say that.</p>
<p>I did say that feminists were responsible for getting the laws changed and that this has resulted in unintended consequences.</p>
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<p>They do. But bad laws are just that. Bad laws. Changing the scales of justice to benefit one group can have unintended consequences.</p>
<p>bulletandpima, I already agreed that false accusations hurt the case for all women who press rape charges. This is true and a consequence that results. </p>
<p>The point is, women are more often the victims in rape than men. </p>
<p>Women’s rights and men’s rights both need protection for sure. But it doesn’t take a feminist to understand that rape is primarily a crime against women. </p>
<p>You say the scales of justice benefit one group? Sorry, but victims of rape need protection. The victims are women. False accusations of any crime are also a horrible thing and that is why there are trials to get to the bottom of an allegation and investigations of the facts and what can be proven.</p>
<p>This case leaves me with just one question:</p>
<p>Danmell??? 
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<p>Nobody has brought in men being raped, but you. I did not in any way, shape or form read that BC was saying anything about men being raped. </p>
<p>I also never said that the scales of justice benefit one group. What I said was that due to the fact that false accusations in highly publicized cases have occurred, it has hurt women more. Trials are to not get to the bottom of it, police investigations should and Kathleen Rice, the DA from Nassau county learned her lessons, she was not going to be the next Mike Nifong. Hofstra was not going to be the next Duke. Long Island was not going to be the next Durham. Mike Nifong would still have been in office if he was not a zealot. The case didn’t end there, it went on and on, because the falsely accused sued Duke, Durham police and Mike Nifong. Meanwhile women who were truly raped in the RTP area were probably afraid to come forward in fear that they would be enduring more scrutiny and that their accusation would be seen as false. That is the unintended consequence that I saw BC coming from.</p>
<p>If you believe that false accusations has not hurt rape victims than I respect that opinion. However, my opinion is that the high notoriety of cases like this and the other two have done severe damage.</p>
<p>The laws motivated by feminists was/is great, yet it also has caused damage.</p>
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<p>I suppose locking up every male would provide the protection that you seek but that might not be considered a practical solution. The Duke Lacrosse case, in addition to many of the Actual Innocence Project cases point out the problems with eyewitness identifications. That is where a rape occurred but the wrong guy was arrested and convicted. In high-profile crimes, police and prosecutors are under pressure to find the perpetrator. Even if it’s the wrong guy. If your story plays into a common fear theme, then you might be able to con the police and the prosecution - as in the generic black man in the Charles Stuart case in Boston.</p>
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<p>This is an incredibly expensive process to clear ones name.</p>
<p>You get accused. You get arrested, perhaps in front of your family, your neighbors, your place of work or your classroom. Your arrest record is forever in a bunch of databases. And in sex crime databases. You may have to report as an offender for the rest of your life into public databases.</p>
<p>The laws are skewed towards the prosecution in rape cases and the usual rules require less evidence and reasoning for conviction. Look at the Duke Lacrosse case timeline. Look how long the three accused were in legal jeopardy. Their legal fees were estimated at over a million each. They had the means to fight it but the vast majority of people don’t have those kinds of resources to fight this. As Ray Donovan said, “Where do I go to get my reputation back?”</p>
<p>Let’s look at the Yale case. The police built up a rock solid case before arresting Clark. They brough him in for questioning but did not arrest him. Let’s say that the DNA pointed to someone else. No harm, no foul, nothing on his record. Just the loss of some of his time. Why wasn’t this procedure used in the Hofstra case? The police bring them in for questioning and they all say that it was consensual and they have video evidence. They go back to the accuser and confront her with this. She recants. No arrests, no time in jail, no damage to reputation, no media circus. And perhaps nothing happens to her because there was virtually no damage done to the guys.</p>
<p>I suggest that you read Until Proven Innocent by Johnson and Taylor. Read about some of the cases at the Actual Innocence Project. And do some research on false rape claims. I did all of this quite some time ago. I read lots of debates on the issues. The state has unlimited resources to make its case and taking advantage of those resources for evil purposes is made possible by unbalanced scales.</p>
<p>He was taken to prison, where he and his 20-year-old brother, Kevin Taveras — another suspect named by Ndonye — were held on $500,000 bail each.</p>
<p>“I was devastated. At first I kept thinking ‘we’ll get through this,’ but then it just kept getting worse – saying we raped her, then that there was rope,” Felipe told FOXNews.com.</p>
<p>“And I know no one’s going to pay one million dollars,” he said, referring to the bond. “We’re looking at at least six to eight months due to the trial.”</p>
<p>Being in prison was like being “in a cage,” Felipe said. But the worst part was being perceived as a monster when he knew the truth.</p>
<p>“It seems more like you’re guilty until proven innocent,” Felipe told FOXNews.com.</p>
<p>[‘We</a> Were Rapists, We Were Dirt,’ Man Falsely Accused of Gang-Rape Says - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,552300,00.html]'We”>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,552300,00.html)</p>
<p>Yes, there are trials. But getting locked up for six to eight months waiting for a chance to get out of jail is expensive. And you will never completely clear your name. And there is the chance that you will be found guilty.</p>
<p>“I don’t know her from a hole in the wall,” he said. “I found out her name today from the newspapers. If she didn’t know there was a video out there, she wouldn’t have cared. She would have let us rot in jail.”</p>
<p>I don’t understand thieves that break a car window that will cost hundreds of dollars to fix to steal a $20 item. I don’t understand why people will unjustly cause others incredible amounts of pain, suffering and grief. But they are out there. In large numbers too.</p>
<p>BULLETANDPIMA,</p>
<p>I believe you are misunderstanding my posts and what things I am responding to and to whom. </p>
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<p>Of course nobody brought in men being raped and surely you did not, nor did BCEagle. That was not my emphasis either. Primarily women are the victims in rape. Men are only victims usually in false accusations of rape. That was my point there.</p>
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<p>I never said that. In fact, I said the opposite. I posted:</p>
<p>post #70 of mine:
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<p>post #73 of mine:
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<p>HOw you ever deducted from my statements that I beleive that false accusations have NOT hurt rape victims is beyond me! I have agreed with it twice. Here, let me do that a third time: “False accusations of rape hurt all future rape victims.” Hope third time is the charm! ;)</p>
<p>You wrote:
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<p>Sorry if there was any misunderstanding but my comment about "scales of justice was directed as a response to BCEagle, not you. He wrote:</p>
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<p>BCEAGLE, </p>
<p>If you have read my posts over the years, you will know that with the Duke lacrosse case, at first, I listened fairly to each side as the case began to unfold but then moved quickly over to defending the young men who were obviously wrongly accused. I thought it was a horrific case of false accusation that was handled horrendously. </p>
<p>I also think that false accusations are horrible! Indeed innocent people are wrongly accused and arrested (not just for rape either). It is horrendous. I believe that it was just horrible for the young men in this Hofstra case too. </p>
<p>Just because false accusations exist, that doesn’t negate that real serious crimes are being committed against women that really HAVE happened. I believe the balance would indicate that more arrests have a basis than those that don’t. I don’t believe that the scales of justice favor women in these cases. The women are USUALLY the victims. And if someone is falsely accused, as with ANY crime where this happens, that is also horrible but that is what the justice system is for. If every arrested person in this country were assumed guilty, we would not need courts of law. Unfortunately, some defendents of crimes are actually innocent and hopefully are defended and justice is served. But I am as horrified as the next person when someone is wrong accused, arrested or convicted. Be that as it may, protecting victims of crime is very important and is not a feminist issue. The victims of rape are women, much more often than men. It is a terrible crime. </p>
<p>The reason why cases like Duke, Tawana Brawley or Hofstra stand out is that these men were falsely accused and arrested. There are way more cases where men were rightfully accused, arrested and convicted of rape. Rape is typically a crime against women. These cases of false accusation are the ones where men are the victims. More often than not, women are the victims, however. That is not a feminist issue or standpoint.</p>
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<p>It may be that more arrests do, and if so, then police are doing a decent job but I have seen research indicating false accusation rates of fifty percent. As far as the scales of justice being tilted, these things were discussed to death at KC Johnson’s Durham In Wonderland blog where there are actual examples of laws that favor the accuser over the accused. We had lawyers, prosecutors, police and others on the blog to discuss a wide range of issues. It would take me some time to dig out the specifics of the laws that were changed to favor the accuser over the accused as the discussions were heaviest about 9 months after the case broke.</p>
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<p>The police end of the justice department should determine whether a crime was committed first. This has already been noted in Durham in Wonderland. They too asked the question as to why the guys were arrested instead of questioned first.</p>
<p>The modern problems with the justice system is that it can destroy lives. Sorry, we made a mistake, you’re free to go after being locked up for six months doesn’t cut it. Neither is probation for a false accuser for ruining the rest of someones life.</p>
<p>What is your definition of protecting a victim of crime? Can this be done in another way than it is currently done?</p>