DA will NOT file charges against Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh: motels, purchase)

[wycoff]

Originally Posted by groar

so she ignores the intense personal scrutiny and humiliation (and most likely threats and harassment) that come with accusing a famous athlete of rape, and worries about the penalties of filing a false police report? and she does this by telling an even more involved lie? she could have just said that she didn't want to press charges right away.

What harassment and humiliation? The general public doesn't even know who she is, which, in this day and age, is practically miraculous.

She could have dropped the charges immediately and put herself at risk for being prosecuted for making a false report. Plus, there may be an element of cognitive dissonance that would make her not want to drop the charges immediately. I don't know. It's up to the police and the DA to make the case for charges, not to accused to make the case for why charges shouldn't be pursued.

[groar]

Originally Posted by wycoff

That's what our justice system requires us to do. That's what innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt is all about.

and as i've said, if i was on a jury and what the public knows was the only evidence offered, i would not vote to convict. but that doesn't mean i automatically think he didn't do it and the girl is a liar. nor are either of us, as private citizens, required to assume that everyone who accuses someone of rape is lying.

o.j. simpson was found not guilty in a court of law, but i still think he probably killed his ex wife. similarly, while there might not be enough evidence to convict roethlisberger, i'm still entitled to my opinion that he probably did rape that woman.

and no, the public doesn't know who this woman is, but people in her town probably do. and if she had moved forward with the charges, her identity probably would have been revealed at some point. and the humiliation happens to pretty much anyone who accuses someone of rape. it happens in the trial and sometimes it happens in the hospital or police station. it can come from people close to you, or even be internalized. never mind that even if no one knows who she is, there are people out there publicly calling her all kinds of nasty things (hell, look at some of the things said in this thread), and she probably hears/sees some of that.

[wycoff]

Originally Posted by groar

my guess is that she either had consensual sex with him that she regretted or that went somewhere she didn't want it to go (likely, considering her genital injuries), or she was raped as she says. it seems undeniable that something unpleasant happened to her in that bathroom. she was upset, her friends convinced her that she needed to go to the police, and she did. if her later story is true, it seems very plausible that she was in denial when she first spoke to the police. later in the hospital, she said she was raped. note that in the hospital she referred to roethlisberger as "a boy", not by his name, which isn't that huge of a deal but kind of discredits the idea that she was targeting him because of his fame and reputation. when she sobered up, she said she was raped. the retraction was likely either due to a payoff, fear of having her personal life dissected in court, knowledge that successful prosecution was impossible, and/or real or anticipated harassment, threats and reprisal from steelers fans. or maybe she was lying, but the idea that she had this cool, calculated plan to drop the case at just the right moment to avoid penalties for filing a false report is pretty out there.

My speculation in this case is that Ben and the accuser started to hook up. The girl experienced a certain physiological response that can happen when a girl has had too much to drink, they tried to go ahead with the sex anyway, it was too painful so the girl had Ben stop, Ben said something nasty to her because of that, they stopped, she was upset, told her friends, and her friends talked her into accusing him of rape. There would be all the physical evidence described by the DA and no way for Ben to say otherwise.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by groar

and as i've said, if i was on a jury and what the public knows was the only evidence offered, i would not vote to convict. but that doesn't mean i automatically think he didn't do it and the girl is a liar. nor are either of us, as private citizens, required to assume that everyone who accuses someone of rape is lying.

o.j. simpson was found not guilty in a court of law, but i still think he probably killed his ex wife. similarly, while there might not be enough evidence to convict roethlisberger, i'm still entitled to my opinion that he probably did rape that woman.

and no, the public doesn't know who this woman is, but people in her town probably do. and if she had moved forward with the charges, her identity probably would have been revealed at some point. and the humiliation happens to pretty much anyone who accuses someone of rape. it happens in the trial and sometimes it happens in the hospital or police station. it can come from people close to you, or even be internalized. never mind that even if no one knows who she is, there are people out there publicly calling her all kinds of nasty things (hell, look at some of the things said in this thread), and she probably hears/sees some of that.

That is what happened in the Kobe Bryant case. The accuser's name was released, somehow. Was it that she is from a small town, or was it Kobe's high-priced lawyer (who did get a bit of a comeuppance when she lost a lot of support from the Denver women's legal community)? Anyway, she dropped the charges, there was no trial.

Originally Posted by wycoff

My speculation in this case is that Ben and the accuser started to hook up. The girl experienced a certain physiological response that can happen when a girl has had too much to drink, they tried to go ahead with the sex anyway, it was too painful so the girl had Ben stop, Ben said something nasty to her because of that, they stopped, she was upset, told her friends, and her friends talked her into accusing him of rape. There would be all the physical evidence described by the DA and no way for Ben to say otherwise.

I sure as h*** never learned about that "physiological response" in anatomy and physiology at Pitt.

[Copanut]

Bottom line, Ben is a jerk that needs to grow up. A 28 yr old chasing college girls, seriously, how sad is that?

[wycoff]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I sure as h*** never learned about that "physiological response" in anatomy and physiology at Pitt.

I tried to phrase it delicately, as I don't want to violate the terms of this site. I thought that others would know what I mean. I can more graphically described what I mean if necessary.

[Copanut]

News Flash:
[SIZE=2]AP in New York reports that Plaxico Burress accidently shot Santonio Holmes in the leg at a night club, causing Mr. Holmes to throw a drink in Ben Roethlisberger's face, which caused Mr. Roethlisberger to accidentally grope the nearest waitress. The sound of the shot startled Jeff Reed, causing him to accidentally smash the men's room towel dispenser, startling Matt Spaeth, who then lost control of his bladder.[/SIZE]

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by wycoff

I tried to phrase it delicately, as I don't want to violate the terms of this site. I thought that others would know what I mean. I can more graphically described what I mean if necessary.

Sorry to disabuse you of your notion. Alcohol is a depressant.

[Copanut]

Kat,

Just wondering how the Ben story is playing outside of Pittsburgh?

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Kat,

Just wondering how the Ben story is playing outside of Pittsburgh?

We're not hearing much about it. I think the people that follow sports religiously are interested, the rest of us are more concerned with how the Rockies, Avs and Nuggets are doing.