Links and more on the Duke rape case.

Durham County DA says he has no doubt the victim was raped:

"My reading of the report of the emergency room nurse would indicate that some type of sexual assault did in fact take place," Nifong said.  If police make an arrest in the case, charges could be major according to legal professionals outside the investigation. Among the possible charges: first-degree forcible rape and first-degree forcible sexual offense -- both of which are felonies.“It's just under murder as one of the most serious crimes in North Carolina,” said Defense Attorney Dan Boyce.  Even with no prior criminal record, if convicted on just one charge, a person could face a 25- to 30- year prison sentence. Consequences for anyone at the house charged with aiding and abetting could also be severe.

Justice 4 Two Sisters asks where the black churches are in supporting the community during all this:

"The church has been our country club, our fraternity,sorority, alma mater, citizens action committee, finishing school, mission,homeless shelter, soup kitchen, et al since forever. No member of the black community could matriculate where we do, work where we do, eat where we do, walk where we do, or live where we do, if it were not for the black church...if not for preachers and mothers of the church, for protest marches and prayer meetings. Where is the black church on this issue?

And Professor Kim's News and Notes publishes an excerpt of an interview with students about the climate of race relations in the city.

4/11/06 UPDATE:  DNA results are in and there's no match.  They'll have to use other evidence.  Because of the news there's a lot of traffic coming in from google searches.  A lot people are ready to throw out the case now so it bears repeating: lack of a DNA match does not mean a rape did not occur folks.  A sexual assault of some kind has been verified by a nurse and doctor at the emergency room.  Whatever the DNA results say the fact remains a crime was committed that night. We just don't know by who.

Comments on this thread are closed because this blog is on hiatus. There are good discussions of this case on other blogs so feel free to post your reactions over there.  I don't have time to moderate comments here.

Comments

[IgorIgor]

Barb, here's some news to consider.

"Officers responded to the call at 610 N. Buchanan within a minute of the dispatch. The complainant was not on the scene and no one seemed to be at the house, according to the officers, so they cleared the scene after checking the area for several minutes," said police spokeswoman Kammie Michael.

In her call reporting the racial slur, the unidentified woman offered different versions of the incident. She variously said she had driven by the house, had walked by the house and was sitting in front of the house at the time she was talking to the 911 dispatcher. She initially said one male near the Duke wall hurled the racial epithet, and later said a group of people came out of 610 N. Buchanan yelling at her and her friend. The wall and the house are on opposite sides of a dimly lit street.

http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-719220.html

Nifong declined to comment Thursday on whether the caller had come forward, as the police had hoped Wednesday when they issued an appeal for her or anyone else with information about the alleged assault.

In the audiotape of the 911 call from the grocery made on behalf of the accuser, the security guard told the operator that the women appeared intoxicated or disoriented and would not get out of the car.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/sports/31duke.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Sounds fishy to me.

The woman worked at an "escort service". So, she's a whore.

Now, my guess is that she's hired to perform at the party, there is some disagreement as to how much her sex should cost, an argument with possible name-calling, and she's thrown out of the house. (that's why her things are left behind). She's upset, calls police, tells about the racial slur, goes to the grocery, and asks a clerk to claim the rape happened.

[shannon]

Thanks for not reading. The DA noted that the rape occured. Sex work does not make rape OK. The 'she was a whore' defense won't work anymore.

[barb]

yeah, all the DA said was that the woman was indeed sexually violated. The emergency room nurse can verify that in about two seconds. And the DNA should pinpoint exactly which 3 did the actual rape. So it's not like it's a very murky case here, Igor. The hardest part will be holding the rest of the team in attendence at the party accountable for their nonaction and/or passive participation and in creating a hostile atmosphere.

And yeah, it should go without saying that sex work does not make rape okay, but thanks for reminding us, Igor, that there are still people out there who don't get that idea.

[Gfan]

I don't think responding to Igor is even worth it but I think in general terms it is important to adress why so many jump to the defence of these players even as the evidence in this case mounts against the Duke lacross team. I believe the people who defend these players are pathetic. We call the victim a whore and that makes it all right. She's in the sex industry so she had to want it. These people don't even take the time to wonder about a society where women have to degrade themselves for mens pleasure just to pay thier electric bill or have a comfortable life. A society where a stripper can make a thousand dollars a night and a teacher makes less than that in a mounth. eing a stripper or even a prostitiute ds not make rape O.K. No is no at anytime, under any circumstances. I hope one day women will no longer have to defend thier lifestyle before we will evn look at the rape. The woman is the vicim... someday I hope we realize that.

I have also seen another type of person defending these Men and it sad. It is the Duke sports fan. As a sports fan myself, I have run into people like Igor quite often, (a nut) and others who may not seem like a nut but will rationalize anything that tarnishes the ivory image of there school or team. You would not believe how far a fan of a sports program will go in defending thier favorite team but the Image of the school as a whole. American culture has become reflected in our sports. The values of sports used to be emphisized far more than the score board. The team ethic, sportsmanship, fairness, rooting for the underdog, hard work: these were the qualities that made great teams, and were what were emulated. Now It's about bad boys like T.O.(for those of you unfamiliar he's a player for the NFL Eagles a well known me first player). Too much of sports has become aout winning at any cost. It used to be if you so much as talked back to a coach in collage ball let alone commit a CRIME you were thrown both off the team and out of the school. Now, however, infraction after infraction is forgiven because we want our team to win. In the end you see something as horrible s the crime of rape and you rationalize it away because this couldn't happen at Duke. The sad truth about rape is it happens every day almost every minuet, when you walk down the street today you will see a rape victim. A real fan of Duke should be ashamed of what occured and rethink the entire way thier Atheletes are held accountable for thier actions.

[barb]

Thanks Gfan, I agree he doesn't merit a response but yours was a good one. I appreciate it.