... incarcerated 14-year-old consented to be raped by a corrections office

[mrsat_98]

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/07/loui...tions_officer/

A Louisiana parish is arguing that it should not be held liable for the rape of a 14-year-old girl in a juvenile detention center because the victim “consented” to be sexually assaulted by a 40-year-old corrections officer at the facility.

The victim, now 20, filed a civil lawsuit against her assailant, former guard Angelo Vickers, as well as Terrebonne Parish.

The age of consent in Louisiana is 17, but court documents allege that “Vickers could not have engaged in sexual relations within the walls of the detention center with [the victim] without cooperation from her. Vickers did not use force, violence or intimidation when engaging in sexual relations.”

In a comment on the case to the Tri-Parish Times, an anonymous official also remarked that the 14-year-old should share the blame for her assault, saying: “These girls in the detention center are not Little Miss Muffin.”

Attorneys for the young woman — supported by victim rights advocates — argue that consent is not possible in this case.

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Carolyn McNabb, an area attorney and child advocate, is one among many local voices harshly criticizing the parish’s victim-blaming: “To say that a 14-year-old mentally and emotionally distressed girl with a history of having been abused and neglected as a child should be found at fault for consenting to be raped by a male guard while in confinement at the hands of my local government, which is charged with the responsibility of keeping her safe, not only sets the cause of children’s advocacy back a hundred years, but I believe the parish government commits ‘documentary’ sexual assault against the child by taking this position in a public record,” she remarked in a letter to parish attorneys.

Marci Hamilton, a sex crime victim advocate and professor at Benjamin Cardozo Law School in New York, also criticized the parish’s defense, arguing that it “has no basis in law,” adding, “she is a victim of statutory rape. The age of consent in Louisiana is 17. The defense is also offensive to sex assault victims everywhere.”

[mrsat_98]

http://www.tri-parishtimes.com/news/...tml?TNNoMobile


The Blame Game: Lawyers say 14-year-old
consented to rape; shares blame
By JOHN DeSANTIS Senior Staff Writer | Posted: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 3:08 pm
In a small, windowless courtroom where bailiffs outnumbered spectators, a judge listened patiently to
testimony from psychologists and other witnesses for almost a week, although a resolution to the
case before him is a long way off.
The issue before District Judge George Larke is whether the people of Terrebonne Parish should pay
money to a woman sexually abused at the age of 14 by a juvenile detention guard whose job was to
keep her safe and, if so, how much.
The civil suit against the now-imprisoned guard, Angelo Vickers, and the Terrebonne Parish
Consolidated Government alleges officials should have known Mary Doe – a fictitious name given to
protect the victim’s identity – was at risk and that Vickers was improperly supervised.
The case is one component of a scandal that rocked the parish’s juvenile detention center in 2010,
resulting in a scathing report from the U.S. Department of Justice. Improper use of isolation cells,
lack of supervision and accusations of guards exchanging candy and other favors in return for sex led
to indictments and dismissals of staff.
But the case before Judge Larke includes a new twist that is troublesome to child advocates.
As part of its defense, attorneys for the parish say the court should consider what they maintain was
Mary Doe’s consent to sex with the guard, and that the amount of damages, if awarded, should be
adjusted accordingly.
“Vickers could not have engaged in sexual relations within the walls of the detention center with (the
victim) without cooperation from her,” legal papers filed by the parish’s attorneys read. “Vickers did
not use force, violence or intimidation when engaging in sexual relations.”
That has some victim advocates fuming.
Offensive defense
Marci Hamilton, a nationally recognized sex crime victim advocate and professor at Benjamin
Cardozo Law School in New York, who once clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor, is among experts who question the validity of the parish’s argument.
“The defense has no basis in law,” Hamilton said. “She is a victim of statutory rape. The age of consent
in Louisiana is 17. The defense is also offensive to sex assault victims everywhere.”12/29/13 The Blame Game: Lawyers say14-year-old consented torape; shares blame - Tri-Parish Times Newspaper: News
http://www.tri-parishtimes.com/news/...tml?mode=print 2/6
Advocates – and attorneys for the girl – say it is impossible for a 14-year-old to give any kind of
consent to sex, especially within the walls of a detention center, to a man who controls her every
move

[aGameOfThrones]

Rapist everywhere rejoice.

[pcosmar]

Further proof that lawyers (as a general rule) have no morals. Especially true of State Lawyers.

[Ender]

So- it's OK if you are a 40 year old corrections officer but not an 18 year old boyfriend.

[phill4paul]

So- it's OK if you are a 40 year old corrections officer but not an 18 year old boyfriend.

A Caste system has it's privileged.

[pcosmar]

Think it's outrageous?

Just wait till the Economy crashes.. and see what perks they get to stay on the job.

[RickyJ]

Consent or not a 14 year old is a minor and the guard broke the law. Also, I think there is a rule that forbids guards from having sex with inmates no matter what their age.

[RickyJ]

“These girls in the detention center are not Little Miss Muffin.”

That is yet another reason to leave them alone no matter what their age.

[RickyJ]

double post

[phill4paul]

WTF does this mean?

“These girls in the detention center are not Little Miss Muffin.”

I thought perhaps he meant "Little Miss Muffet." As in the old nursery rhyme. Then I googled and sure enough there is a "Miss Muffin." I still don't get what he is trying to say.

[RickyJ]

It is obvious he is trying to say they aren't exactly good girls.

[Suzanimal]

That poor girl's whole life has been sad .

[osan]

Um... can someone tell me how a person can consent to rape? If there is consent, there is no rape. Period.

[Anti Federalist]

Gives a whole new meaning to the word "rape cage", doesn't it now?

Every day, just when I think the state can get no more depraved, comes another new horror.

Pete is absolutely right...just wait until the bottom falls out of this mess...ya'll ain't seen nothing yet.

And Boobus will stand there like the stupid, docile, bovine idiot that he is, and thank the brave Officers for gang raping his little girl.

[KCIndy]

Um... can someone tell me how a person can consent to rape? If there is consent, there is no rape. Period.

Mutually exclusive to be sure.

Add to that the fact that I've never seen any legal precedent ANYWHERE that says a 14 year old is legally able to "consent" to any form of sexual liaison. Hence the "statutory rape" charges that usually accompany such actions. (Unless, of course, one is a member of the Privileged Class.)

[amy31416]

It is obvious he is trying to say they aren't exactly good girls.

Asking for it, just like the good ole days of rape. Probably white trash from the trailer parks or non-whites from the ghetto...they had $#@!ty parents, so they deserve for their entire life to be $#@!.

They may as well just start coming right out and saying that they're sentencing people to rape when/if they get a trial.

I wonder if there's ever been "justice" systems who used that as a formal form of punishment.

[amy31416]

It is obvious he is trying to say they aren't exactly good girls.

Asking for it, just like the good ole days of rape. Probably white trash from the trailer parks or non-whites from the ghetto...they had $#@!ty parents, so they deserve for their entire life to be $#@!.

They may as well just start coming right out and saying that they're sentencing people to rape when/if they get a trial.

I wonder if there's ever been "justice" systems who used that as a formal form of punishment.

[tod evans]

So- it's OK if you are a 40 year old corrections officer but not an 18 year old boyfriend.

"Just-Us"

$#@! yeah!

[klamath]

Wow the outrage in this thread and some of the same posters were making excuses for a 60 year old social worker having sex with a 11 year old girl.....Somehow croc tears come to mind....

[Anti Federalist]

Wow the outrage in this thread and some of the same posters were making excuses for a 60 year old social worker having sex with a 11 year old girl.....Somehow croc tears come to mind....

Umm...wut?

[Ender]

Wow the outrage in this thread and some of the same posters were making excuses for a 60 year old social worker having sex with a 11 year old girl.....Somehow croc tears come to mind....

In the one case the girl chased the man down and did not look her age.

In thus case, I can only imagine what this girl's incarceration would have been like if she had said no.

[Anti Federalist]

In the one case the girl chased the man down and did not look her age.

In thus case, I can only imagine what this girl's incarceration would have been like if she had said no.

Missed that one, I think...link?

[klamath]

Missed that one, I think...link?

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...turns-sentence

[Anti Federalist]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...turns-sentence

Yah, vaguely recalled that.

Clearly an abuse of power and position of authority.

Not sure what I can do about, being as it was a case in Italy.

We've got our own problems here.