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Thursday, December 02, 2010

How to eff up a sexual assault investigation

Having seen this for myself in other places with assault victims who are intimidated into silence, it seems another bad handling of a rape case has surfaced, this time by Notre Dame.  Its reported handling of a charge related to a football player shouldn't just be bad public relations, it should be an attack on the school that ends when they modify how they deal with assault victims, open up the details of the case to public scrutiny, and apologize if the accusations are true.  The prosecutor in the case is keeping this topic alive and going after some of her attackers like a Mr. Sean O'Sea.  If Sean had a sister who got raped, he might be a little less interested in pointing out a the victim had depression and that another public case of sexual assault was a hoax.  Its a little too straw man to even comment on.  Encouraging others not to rush to judgment while you rush to judgment?  Nice one, Sean.

Although the victim (according to what the prosecutor listed) did everything right, the lesson here is get a good lawyer as quickly as possible.  Sadly, the people you think should be there to help you may not.

Fortunately, an investigation is ongoing.

See also: RAINN tips and legislation to help protect rape victims.

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