Should false accusers be prosecuted?
by Richard Barbuto
It should be self-evident that there is a strong relationship between false allegations and wrongful convictions. As I have a fine grasp of the obvious I can say, without reservation, that any conviction resting on a false allegation is wrongful. This is neither a new nor brilliant thought. So shouldn't there then be a disincentive for a person to falsely report a crime? A recent case in Nassau County on Long Island in New York provides a good model to study this issue.
An 18 year old female student at Hofstra University reported being gang raped by 5 men in a rest room on on the campus. This report triggered a very fast response by the Nassau County Police Department and 4 men, one a Hofstra student as well, were arrested while the 5th man was being actively sought by the NCPD. Notice that I did not say the report triggered a very fast investigation.
The 4 arrested men, whose names were plastered all over newspapers, were arraigned and the Office of the Nassau County DA, no doubt wanting to show how tough they are with an election only weeks away, sought ridiculously high bail. It should be pointed out that none of the arrestees had a prior criminal record. The judge, making sure that no one would accuse him of being soft on crime, granted the prosecutor's bail request. If memory serves me bail was set at $500,000 on each defendant, an amount that was not going to be made. The top charge for all 4 was rape in the first degree which carries a potential penalty of from 5-25 years incarceration. While all this was going on the NCPD held a press conference about the case. The Nassau County PD likes to hold press conferences. That the conferences may serve to poison the jury pool does not seem to be a huge concern for the NCPD. They love to convict the defendants in the news media before the case ever gets to court.
In the press conference it was announced that the men involved planned the rape by snatching the woman's cell phone, and when she tried to retrieve it, lured her to the bathroom where the rape took place. This painted the grisly picture of a planned sex attack and it sure does sell newspapers.
Only one minor detail was overlooked. You read the title of this blog so you know what is coming. There . . . was. . . no. . . rape.
The 5th not yet arrested man had a cell phone and took some pictures of the incident. It turns out there was some bathroom sex and all of it was consensual. Now before anyone starts in with the behavior of the men was reprehensible, lets assume it was. What is was not was a crime. It appears the only crime committed here was committed by the female when she falsely accused the young men of raping her which was the catalyst for all that followed.
The woman was confronted and recanted. The DA, to her credit, acted with remarkable speed in securing the release of the men in jail. The Nassau County Police Department, finally finding a microphone they didn't like, has yet to be heard from. Presumably the search for the 5th man has been suspended.
So now the question became what about the false accuser? Would she be charged? When asked the DA first said it was "likely" while at the same time describing the woman as being "a deeply troubled young woman." Some days went by with a multitude of opinions being heard. Generally speaking there were 2 camps so to speak. One group said the woman should be charged as a warning to others not to engage in this type of behavior. The other said no charges should be brought for fear that women who really were raped would not come forward. The rationale was that oftentimes rape is a "he said she said" type of crime and that women might be looked at as false accusers and then punished.
Late on a Friday afternoon the DA announced that she would not charge the woman, but instead her office entered into an agreement with the woman that she would undergo counseling and engage in community service. If the DA was so proud of this solution one wonders why she buried it in a Friday afternoon announcement. Saturday has always been the day the fewest people read a newspaper. I do not think it a stretch to conclude that the DA hoped the story would "go away"" over the weekend.
But back to the main question. Should the false accuser be charged? Does it make a difference that the alleged crime was rape? Consider this: The woman in this case falsely alleges a gunpoint robbery which carries the same penalty as the rape. Should a false accuser be charged in that case? I do not know the answer to any of these questions. I'm just asking.
PS--For those interested, the woman that falsely accused the Duke lacrosse players was not charged.
An 18 year old female student at Hofstra University reported being gang raped by 5 men in a rest room on on the campus. This report triggered a very fast response by the Nassau County Police Department and 4 men, one a Hofstra student as well, were arrested while the 5th man was being actively sought by the NCPD. Notice that I did not say the report triggered a very fast investigation.
The 4 arrested men, whose names were plastered all over newspapers, were arraigned and the Office of the Nassau County DA, no doubt wanting to show how tough they are with an election only weeks away, sought ridiculously high bail. It should be pointed out that none of the arrestees had a prior criminal record. The judge, making sure that no one would accuse him of being soft on crime, granted the prosecutor's bail request. If memory serves me bail was set at $500,000 on each defendant, an amount that was not going to be made. The top charge for all 4 was rape in the first degree which carries a potential penalty of from 5-25 years incarceration. While all this was going on the NCPD held a press conference about the case. The Nassau County PD likes to hold press conferences. That the conferences may serve to poison the jury pool does not seem to be a huge concern for the NCPD. They love to convict the defendants in the news media before the case ever gets to court.
In the press conference it was announced that the men involved planned the rape by snatching the woman's cell phone, and when she tried to retrieve it, lured her to the bathroom where the rape took place. This painted the grisly picture of a planned sex attack and it sure does sell newspapers.
Only one minor detail was overlooked. You read the title of this blog so you know what is coming. There . . . was. . . no. . . rape.
The 5th not yet arrested man had a cell phone and took some pictures of the incident. It turns out there was some bathroom sex and all of it was consensual. Now before anyone starts in with the behavior of the men was reprehensible, lets assume it was. What is was not was a crime. It appears the only crime committed here was committed by the female when she falsely accused the young men of raping her which was the catalyst for all that followed.
The woman was confronted and recanted. The DA, to her credit, acted with remarkable speed in securing the release of the men in jail. The Nassau County Police Department, finally finding a microphone they didn't like, has yet to be heard from. Presumably the search for the 5th man has been suspended.
So now the question became what about the false accuser? Would she be charged? When asked the DA first said it was "likely" while at the same time describing the woman as being "a deeply troubled young woman." Some days went by with a multitude of opinions being heard. Generally speaking there were 2 camps so to speak. One group said the woman should be charged as a warning to others not to engage in this type of behavior. The other said no charges should be brought for fear that women who really were raped would not come forward. The rationale was that oftentimes rape is a "he said she said" type of crime and that women might be looked at as false accusers and then punished.
Late on a Friday afternoon the DA announced that she would not charge the woman, but instead her office entered into an agreement with the woman that she would undergo counseling and engage in community service. If the DA was so proud of this solution one wonders why she buried it in a Friday afternoon announcement. Saturday has always been the day the fewest people read a newspaper. I do not think it a stretch to conclude that the DA hoped the story would "go away"" over the weekend.
But back to the main question. Should the false accuser be charged? Does it make a difference that the alleged crime was rape? Consider this: The woman in this case falsely alleges a gunpoint robbery which carries the same penalty as the rape. Should a false accuser be charged in that case? I do not know the answer to any of these questions. I'm just asking.
PS--For those interested, the woman that falsely accused the Duke lacrosse players was not charged.
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