Sanchez Preston, who was convicted and sentenced in 1999 of attempted second-degree murder (as well as other charges), last month accused a Polk County deputy of rape. The oddest part is how he claims the rape occurred. He says the act was performed through the food slot of his cell.
However, when police investigated his allegation, he admitted he lied because he was being held in isolation, and he didn't like the food. (He is actually serving his time in a different location and was moved to Polk County to testify in a different court case.)
However, when police investigated his allegation, he admitted he lied because he was being held in isolation, and he didn't like the food. (He is actually serving his time in a different location and was moved to Polk County to testify in a different court case.)
It appears that Mr. Preston has a tendency to fight with other inmates, according to the Chief Detention officer, Bryant Grant, and that he had been put in isolation several times because of that.
"He has a propensity to always do what he's not supposed to do," Grant said.The arrest report states that the accusation was made on the 31st of July, after Preston made a complaint about his dinner. He demanded to speak to a lieutenant, and when that demand was refused, he hung a blanket over the window of his cell. The deputy then reached through the food slot and pulled down the blanket. Preston claimed that this somehow caused injuries, and after being examined by a nurse, and no injuries being found, he made the rape allegation.
He admitted during an interview with a detective that the deputy never touched him. At that point, he was charged with falsely accusing a law enforcement officer with sexual battery.
Police and other public service employees (firefighters, emt's, etc.) are easy targets for rape claims. Trust me, I get it. But why are they granted a different level of protection than an average person? Why isn't filing a false report of rape/sexual assault a felony, regardless of who it is made against? Thoughts?
Link: http://www.newschief.com/article/20110811/NEWS/108115001/1003/NEWS?p=2&tc=pg
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11 comments:
Good find, Steve.
Two thoughts: First, I, peronally, think that filing a false rape claim against a police officer and others similarly situated should merit a greater punishment only because, if they are doing their jobs, cops are acting at the behest of society. If we want male cops to do their job and keep us safe, this means they sometimes have to put themselves in situations where they are vulnerable to false rape claims. We can't very well ask them to do that unless we are prepared to protect them when lies are told about them.
Second, I think that the real problem here is that false rape claims against an ordinary citizen only merit a misdemeanor punishment. False rape claims should always be a felony since we no longer require corroboration.
It is also funny that when the rich, cops, judges, attorneys, and others with "influence" are convicted of a "sex crime" they usally do not have to register as a sex offender. One Nation for All. Not from my end.
Really, Anon? You don't think athletes and others have a bullseye on their back when it comes to false rape claims?
Archivist - ” I, peronally, think that filing a false rape claim against a police officer and others similarly situated should merit a greater punishment...”
I would agree, up to a point.
While I can see a higher level of punishment in cases where a public servant is accused, I would not want the punishment to be significantly higher. Or, perhaps, to state it more simply, I would want ALL false accusers to be punished more inline with what those who accuse public servants face.
Behind the reasoning for a statute such as Florida’s 794.011, must surely be the understanding that a false allegation can seriously impact the ability of the accused to perform their duties.
Such logic, IMHO, ought to follow into the consideration of every other false allegation against anyone – the impact that accusation may have on their ability to “perform their duties” – be it holding down a job and supporting a family, or simply being able to hold down a job and pay taxes, or even the potentially negative impact on that persons long-term ability to enter into a stable marriage/relationship and to sire and nurture the next generation of productive individuals – should not be neglected.
Society rightly values the ability of selected public servants (police, firemen) to perform their duties unhindered. But, society, whether anyone bothers to recognize it or not, also values the ability of individuals to go about their productive lives. If every person who was accused of any crime faced the loss of their employment, it would create a serious “crisis” from the upheaval that would result. Although false rape allegations remain a rather small portion of all alleged crimes, it is still reasonable to view the harms done to otherwise productive individuals as being unacceptable to society.
Utterly ridiculous. Cops aren't entitled to any special legal protections that other male citizens aren't also entitled to.
I agree - cops should not be given any more "special priviledge" than they already are.
Mothers falsely accusing fathers damages the man's life as well as che innocent children's.
Teachers have tremendous exposure to "disturbed" females.
I have found that cops are far more empathetic when it comes to false accusations once THEY or someone they know has been put through one. This is probably the last barrier against feminist's wholesale false accusation target practice.
I'd go so far as to make filing a false sex claim against a cop equivlent to murder.
"Cops aren't entitled to any special legal protections that other male citizens aren't also entitled to."
And I suppose you wouldn't give military families any special "privileges" in terms of compensation when a loved one is killed in the line of duty, either. Because, hey, why should they get special privileges.
Ugh!
P.S. To commenter whose comment we deleted: no more law enforcement conspiracy stuff allowed on this site.
In NY State, firing a gun at a cop carries a far greater penalty then if you shot at joe shmoe. I don't think that is right, either. Truth is, there IS a different set of laws for the politically connected/well-off financially of our society.
Firing a gun at a cop acting in the line of duty should result in a greater penalty than firing a gun at a cop who's off duty at a bar. That has absolutely nothing to do with political connections. The cop acting in the line of duty is acting for us; in a sense, he IS us, and if we are going to ask him to take a bullet for us, we damn well better be prepared to have his back.
Eric J Schlegel - ”In NY State, firing a gun at a cop carries a far greater penalty then if you shot at joe shmoe.:
It’s the same nation-wide. It’s even true of any assault upon an officer. The point of such laws was to try to create a greater sense of respect regarding* those charged with maintaining law and order.
But, of course, the other way of viewing it is that it can be no less a tragedy for those who happen to not be in law enforcement. Severe and debilitating injuries are the same for police and civilians alike. So too the deaths of anyone shot and killed. Plenty of law-abiding citizens are killed by guns leaving devastated families, wives, husbands, and children behind – same as what happens to the families of law enforcement.
But, it’s not as if those who shoot at civilians get off easy. They still face any where from reckless endangerment to first-degree capitol murder (depending on the outcome and their aim). It’s not as if the guy who uses a gun in the commission of a crime, and who shoots at a store clerk (for instance) isn’t going to be facing attempted murder charges and 20+ years. So, sentencing enhancements only make the penalties a bit more severe.
There is no perfect trade-off between trying to engineer greater respect for officers of the law (whom a lot of people around here don’t like the least bit anyway) and maintaining reasonable punishments for those who would commit equivalent harms against non-officers. And, enhanced penalties are not a sure-fire deterrent either. Lee Grace Dougherty’s last act before being shot and arrested was to try to shoot at police officers (you can see her laughing it up here: http://www.denverpost.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=3909884).
A lack of respect for police officers can actually place more civilians in greater danger. A lot of people don’t like police. The Manosphere is full of guy’s who seem to think that they do nothing but arrest men for false rape and DV allegations, and given them tickets for DUI’s. But, few bother to try to think just how much AnyTown, USA would look like riot-torn London without them, and a healthy respect by most would be criminals for them.
* respect for the enhanced consequences of attacking them, if not actual respect for them personally.
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