Tobyhanna men falsely accused of rape file suit against police
Five Tobyhanna men falsely accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in Coolbaugh Township in February 2008 are now suing Pocono Mountain Regional Police and the Monroe County District Attorney's Office for civil rights violations.
Charges against Kasheen Thomas, 22, William Spiess, 20, Jose Lacen, 19, Jaleel Holden and Gene Thomas II (Kasheen's brother), both 18, were dismissed last February after the girls admitted to perjury. Attorney George Reihner of the Wright & Reihner law firm in Scranton filed the civil suit on the men's behalf Monday in federal court in Scranton.
Those being sued include Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Harry Lewis and officers Richard Luthcke, John Bohrman, Lucas Bray, Chris Wagner and Kenneth Lenning, District Attorney David Christine, Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski and county detective Wendy Bentzoni, Tobyhanna, Tunkhannock and Coolbaugh townships, Mount Pocono Borough and Monroe County.
The girls said they went to meet two of the five men and were then driven to Lacen's home in Pocono Farms East, where they were assaulted. One girl said Lacen held a knife to her throat during the ordeal.
Both girls later admitted to testifying falsely under oath during a March 2008 preliminary hearing and the case was dismissed prior to going to trial.
The voluminous suit includes a 60-page complaint and 218-page preliminary hearing transcript. The men are seeking a judgment against the defendants but the complaint doesn't specify an amount.
Link: http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100209/NEWS/100209854/-1/NEWS01
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27 comments:
There's a disturbing question over at The Terrorist's Advocate.
Think carefully before answering. It's not meant as a tasteless joke.
Spammers should be banned.
As I mention on the previous post, this sort of lawsuit will provide the benefit of forcing law enforcement to "check" itself, and always be circumspect in the way they handle cases.
While I'd prefer to see the false accusers (and their families) have to be the ones to pay, they seldom have the resources to actually do so - nor do they have to power to effect policy changes in law enforcement. And, while I'm generally an advocate for law enforcement, that must necessarily also entail advocating for police changes so as to continue to strive to always perform those duties at the highest possible levels of accuracy and professionalism.
It's as old as agriculture - the chaff needs to be separated from the wheat.
"While I'd prefer to see the false accusers (and their families) have to be the ones to pay, they seldom have the resources to actually do so - nor do they have to power to effect policy changes in law enforcement."
Right. The reason historically that false reporting to police wasn't treated seriously (and STILL isn't) is because the damage from the crime is generally thought to be the time it takes the police to investigate the problem and learn there is no basis for the claim. The crime of false reporting was never meant to handle false reporting where the crime reported can be established with no requirement of corroboration or other evidence about a matter as serious as rape. Thus, without the corroboration requirement for rape, false reporting of rape is a much, much more serious crime, but we haven't altered the false reporting statutes to impose penalities reflecting that seriousness.
You see, we've handed women and girls the power to destroy virtually any member of the opposite sex, but we didn't bother to think about what we should do if they abuse that power. And perhaps that's because we've had a very vocal group insisting "women don't lie about rape."
I don't know the law very well, but can't those that're falsely accused file suit against the police department as well as the women who falsely accused them? The false accusers are as much to blame for the pain.
AixelA - "I don't know the law very well, but can't those that're falsely accused file suit against the police department as well as the women who falsely accused them? The false accusers are as much to blame for the pain."
It's often difficult, even impossible, to get the whole story from a newspaper account.
The story provides a list of individual "included" in the suit; however, that doesn't specifically exclude the false accusers from also being included.
It would appear that those false accusers are juveniles, thus, since the paper would be unlikely to name them anyway, it may be that they simply weren't mentioned as a part of the suit.
Also if the girls were from poorer families, there simply may not have been any interest in pursuing them financially.
On the other hand, if the girls came from money, a financial settlement may also be reached quietly and privately. I'm personally aware of one such instance in which the family of a girl who had falsely accused a young man of rape (as I understand it) pro-actively sought to reach a financial settlement with the accused man so as to shield their daughter from further embarrassment via potential lawsuit. That also helped to dissuade the duped prosecutor (my wife) from filing charges against her. It would have only been a misdemeanor charge, but, as she turned 18 by that time (and it would not be sealed in her juvenile record) it might have hurt her chances of acceptance at (finer) colleges [this was not specifically stated, but was the impression given].
Notice they still do not even name the girls that lied in the article.
Anonymous - ”Notice they still do not even name the girls that lied in the article.”
This may be due to a policy of not reporting the names of juveniles. But, also not mentioned in the story was the matter of charges against the false accusers.
The article does not link to previous related articles on the case, but a site-search did turn up the previous published news stories; one of which included:
”The charges were dismissed last week because the girls “admitted to testifying falsely under oath on a material matter,” according to court records. The District Attorney’s Office said today that it does not plan to file perjury charges in this case, declining to comment further.”
Although it isn’t specifically stated, it also appears that the girls will also not have their wrists slapped.
In another article, there’s still more:
”The suit includes a 60-page complaint, 218-page preliminary hearing transcript and statements the girls initially made to police after the alleged incident.
"Plaintiffs, in large part motivated by racial animus within the police department and District Attorney's Office, were reviled as 'gang bangers' who brutally raped and sodomized two young girls," the complaint reads. "But, the charges were based on vile and shameful lies of which the defendants were fully aware, and those lies caused the plaintiffs tremendous suffering and grievous, lasting injuries.
"While these young girls were manipulated and exploited by representatives of the police department and District Attorney's Office, no criminal charges could have been filed against plaintiffs if the girls had not been willing to lie to cover up the fact they got caught sneaking back into their homes after a night of consensual sex with certain of the plaintiffs," the complaint contends. "The defendants corruptly seized upon and exploited the girls' lies to advance their own ambitions, to create the illusion that they were making progress in their fight against gang-related crime and, in large part, to gratify their own personal prejudices."
The complaint accuses police and prosecutors of proceeding with a case against the plaintiffs while knowing the girls had given false, conflicting statements, ignoring and concealing exculpatory evidence and disregarding proper investigative procedures.
"It was announced the girls would not be prosecuted even though they admitted to making false accusations," the complaint states. "That decision, like many others in this matter, was influenced by race. A trial would have exposed the racially motivated corruption at issue."”
I hope that they BANKRUPT these cops for life! I hope that they go after the girls too, and ruin them every which way possible. Only when false accusers and their enablers suffer the CONSEQUENCES for their malfeasance and dereliction of duty will they even think of cleaning up their act.
One other article on the case worth reading:
Sex charges against 5 men dropped in Pocono Farms East assault case
slwerner
I like your posts.
I live in PA and there is a story of an 11 year old white male that allegedly shot a lady and killed her. They show his face and name constantly.
So any time I hear that there are girls committing crimes like this and they are over the age of 11 I think it;;s a total double standard.
Markymark
In the United States your odds of hitting the lotto are about as good as suffering any consequences of filing a false rape accusation.
The life of me and any other guy out there is treated as though we are worthless.
MarkyMark - "I hope that they BANKRUPT these cops for life! I hope that they go after the girls too, and ruin them every which way possible."
Given the allegations (see the article excerpt above your post), it seems a good bet that the real victims will get a decent settlement out of their lawsuit.
However, two things: The members of law enforcement will most likely have some professional insurance, sparing them from direct financial liability (note that both the chief of police and the elected DA are named - neither having likely had any part in the case). Also named are towns and counties. This is simply a matter of throwing a large net.
Next, the girls appear to be spared from ANY punishment (although it's not clear if they are a party to the lawsuit).
From what it seems, they are going to walk away unscathed and unnamed, free to "hook up" with more thugs, and, if they feel the necessity to do so (they get caught sneaking back into their homes again), to falsely accuse again. The fact that they are not charged means that, for the purposes of any future legal (criminal) proceedings, that they never committed the crime. The fact that they are known to have lied in this case cannot be used against them (other than to create doubt for investigators) even if they are subsequently charged for additional FRA's.
To me, that is a huge mistake on the part of the DA's office. It smacks of chivalrous white-knighting, intent on sparing the girls further shame - but which really only extends them "license".
Hopefully the lawsuit will force that office to reconsider their policies in future cases - a small, but significant victory.
Good commentary in this article from Leicester, MA Police Chief James J. Hurley
“The Leicester Police Department has laid off police officers due to funding shortages yet the taxpayers have to foot the bill for this type of fraudulent report,” Chief Hurley said. “The punishment for this type of crime needs to be increased. If you fraudulently accuse someone of a crime that could put them in jail for 20 years, then the person who fraudulently reports the crime should face the same penalty.”
&
” Also frustrating to the chief is that these types of false reports place police in the position of having to scrutinize actual victims more to verify their stories. Having to interrogate a true victim is “just not right,” the chief said.”
"Having to interrogate a true victim is just not right"
Can't quite understand this comment of Leicester, MA Police Chief James J. Hurley.
If you know someone's a true victim, then of course you don't need to "interrogate" her (by that I'm supposing he means unpleasant and coercive questioning tactics).
But if you don't know, then she's not yet a "true" victim, any more than the suspects are "true perpetrators". Does the police chief employ the same delicacy of feeling and refuse to interrogate suspects unless their guilt is first established - or at least, more probable than possible? I would hope that he does, but maybe more experienced readers could enlighten me as to standard police procedure.
Anonymous - "Can't quite understand this comment of Leicester, MA Police Chief James J. Hurley"
I'm thinking that what he's trying to say is that he (and presumably other Police officers) feel bad after they determine that a claim is (more likely than not) true, for having had to put the victim through the interrogation process necessary to flush-out FRA's.
While he's lamenting that "not-so-fresh" feeling the Police are left with after subjecting a victim to some harsh questioning, the broader effect of his statement is to highlight one of the ways that women who make FRA's end up hurting other women.
Many of the gender-feminists aren't concerned about the FRA problem because they see it as only negatively impacting men (who, despite any lip-service otherwise, really don't care the least bit for men).
If they can be shown how women also suffer from FRA's, perhaps it will convince them to join in efforts to dissuade women from making them.
I really don't care if they end up helping for the "wrong" reasons (concern only about women), just so long as they end up addressing the issue. They may have no intention of benefiting men, but if they help cut down on FRA's both men and women will benefit.
To add to my last comment, the chief is also demonstrating an understanding that women DO lie about rapes - thus, they all need to be interrogated as if they may be lying.
This is actually a good thing (from an anti-FRA perspective), since one big problem/complaint has long been that Police automatically believe any women who cries rape. That they are now interrogated clearly means that too many have now lied, and the days when they could enjoy that automatic trust are over.
"I'm thinking that what he's trying to say is that he (and presumably other Police officers) feel bad after they determine that a claim is (more likely than not) true, for having had to put the victim through the interrogation process necessary to flush-out FRA's."
Thanks for your response. I'm glad this police chief is recognizing that false rape accusations happen and that women need to be interrogated to arrive at the truth. I agree with your reading of the situation that police officers probably do feel badly after interrogating an accuser and subsequently finding out she was genuine.
What is of interest to me is how often they feel badly after interrogating a suspect, and subsequently finding out that he was free of any guilt. I don't say this purely to make an unnecessary point, but to suggest that police officers need to see accusers in the same light as suspects. If they don't feel badly after interrogating an innocent suspect, they needn't feel differently after interrogating a genuine rape victim. Perhaps they need more gender-awareness training? :)
I believe some irresponsible police jurisdictions should be held accounteable for the consequences of their neglect of protecting the innocent.
My false rape accusser had falselly accused another guy earlier that year. I specifically requested that she be charged, before i answered any of their interogation questions. They told me, yes if she ilying then we will charge her..but when the facts came out, and it was clear it was a fabricated story..THE POLICE THEN NEGLECTED TO CHARGE HER.
If a boy gets beat to death in his sleep by a baseball bat because a girl told a lie that she had been raped, and the police jurisdiction knew she has a history of false rape accussations "BUT NEGLECTED THEIR DUTY TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT"..then the police need to be held accounteable.
But see the police are suppossed to be working for the citizens, and protecting the innocent, and i believe that the only force strong enough to "break the gender feminist / law enforcement ALLIANCE for federal pork dollars..will in fact be a civil rights lawsuit!!
Get gender feminism out of our law enforcement offices, for they are not qualified to be there!!
Scott
I wonder if you might be able to file a lawsuit and recover some money....you deserve it..and I hope you get it!
Police jurisdictions in partnership with the domestic violence industries,are now raking in massive amounts of federal VAWA pork dollars. This is leading to bias and prejudice against men/boys in the legal system, and is enabling violent / destructive women who are public health hazards.
Pierce, as the clear leader in the U.S in raising awareness of the harm caused by false rape accussations, Maybe you can get one of these guys to do an article for you to publish here.
Good for them...
(damn, back in 1995 I could choose an ISP, pick up the phone, arrange an account and be online in 3 hours...
... now 15 years later and it takes 3 weeks, 2 of them speaking to a dozen droids who each excuse the lies the previous droid told you, and then make yet another promise...)
It looks like comments are disabled for the latest entry.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/women-go-online-to-share-child-sexabuse-fantasies-1839304.html
http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/radicalmiddle/archive/2009/12/10/the-myth-that-will-not-die.aspx
http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/radicalmiddle/archive/2009/12/14/the-myth-that-will-not-die-pt-ii.aspx
Have there been any updates on this story?
http://antimisandry.com/counter-feminist/update-kevin-driscoll-case-25856.html
http://usobserver.com/archive/sept-09/driscoll-september.htm
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