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Anonymous Helps Find Evidence In Gang Rape Case
jfruh writes "Evidence of a gang rape committed by members of an Ohio high school football team, including video, was, in the way of digital native teenagers today, put online on various social media sites — and was quickly taken down as students began realizing the magnitude of the situation. The hactivist group Anonymous has been able to find archived and cached versions of the damning content, which may help prosecutors make their case." (The original story from December at the New York Times adds more detail.)
Anonymous does something truly useful and good!
Way to go guys!
I've been half-heartedly following this story once I heard the initial reports and what took place was almost, but not quite, as bad as the Indian student who was attacked, raped and beaten on a bus in India and later died.
This girl was, apparently, passed out drunk (she was 16) and while passed out, was raped by at least 2 members of the football. Her limp, violated, body was carried by her arms and legs, all while being recorded and while others stood by and did nothing.
Some people present tweeted what was taking place, some took pictures and one shining example of the human race was recorded for a length of time bragging about how much she was fucked (worse than in the movie Pulp Fiction according to him). No one called the police.
Further, when asked about how he would feel if his daughter was raped (he apparently at the ripe of a late teenager had a daughter) in 10 years, he pontificated that in ten years his daughter would be raped and dead. What a wonderful guy.
While the death penalty cannot undo what was done to someone, we as a society can no longer continue to coddle people who refuse to live with the basic bounds of society. There isn't something new in not raping, murdering, shooting, tealing from, beating or otherwise doing something to someone, and people such as this who have no regard for others do not deserve any sympathy or regard from the rest of society.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
When this story came out, the prosecutor told the press that they already had collected the video in question. And still hadn't charged anybody.
In other words, there's an untainted trail of the evidence, and the reason that Anonymous got involved at all is that they're trying to shame the prosecutor's office into doing something.
I am officially gone from
but these were jocks, football players
they are more equal than others
Deadspin has been great about following this story (see the other links(, and this page from a few days ago is more in depth and has the video itself (and some choice quotes if you can't listen to this sort of thing):
http://deadspin.com/5972527/she-is-so-raped-right-now-former-student-jokes-about-the-steubenville-accuser-the-night-of-the-alleged-rape
Truly despicable.
I live in constant fear of the Coming of the Red Spiders.
Anonymous.
Why is being able to run fast and throw/catch a ball accurately considered something that elevates these people above everyone else?
Why can't people be elevated for doing things that actually contribute to society?
Our priorities as a culture are SERIOUSLY fucked up.
Yeah, and they would never frame anybody or tamper with evidence or anything, because their motives are always pure and above reproach. And unlike public officers, they're completely accountable!
Wait, who are these people again?
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Its parent groups were killed off while it was watching, what else did you expect?
The prosecutor, you mean the mother of one of the kids on the football team?
Hurray small town america.
The authorities aren't overtly apathetic, they're seem to be in full-on coverup mode. According to the narrative that Anonymous/Localleaks/Knight Sec are telling, they have a vested interest that goes well beyond preserving hometown pride. One of the players implicated is the son of the county prosecutor attached to the case, and allegedly the girl transported to the prosecutor's residence during that night and raped before being transported to another location.
Actually, it is admissible. IAaL, I am assuming you are not an attorney. Any objection the defense has will go the weight and not the admissibility. All you need is someone to testify to the video, and that the contents are a fair and accurate representation of the events that occurred. It is a matter of course to identify the videographer, people in the video, etc. If the defense wants to attack the authenticity of the video, or if it was edited, that is fine, but it will, as stated above, only serve to limit the weight the jury gives it and not the admissibility for consideration. Additionally, you don't need video evidence of a rape to prove rape. They arrested, convicted and punished people for 1000s of years without video evidence, and in most cases today there is none.
Because sex with drunk chicks is a major past time in America. Parties are arranged with alcohol specifically because people want to get drunk and fuck. It is well known that women do not go to bars to get laid; they go to bars to have fun, which is why we have wingmen--distract the girl's friends so she is isolated, because she's not there to get picked up. That's why guys take home so many drunk chicks: they did not come there to get taken home, they're just too drunk to think straight!
Guys go out to the bar to find drunk bitches to fuck. Guys arrange parties and tell their friends to find chicks to bring so they can get them drunk and fuck them. This is not what college kids do. This is not what teenagers do. Thirties, forties guys do this. It is common, consistent, continuous behavior.
Most laymen don't register this as 'wrong' until somebody calls it rape. Hell even women don't really take much notice that they've been taken for a romp; they just wake up, ask where the hell they are, and try to find their way home without giving it much thought.
There is a sickness in the world, though perhaps I am pessimistic. Maybe the only reason we freak out when someone calls it 'rape' is because we've accepted this behavior to such a level that everyone pre-accepts the consequences--women don't go out to get fucked while they're passed out drunk, but when it happens most of them are like, "Oh yeah, that happens lol... man I was druuuuunk..." and don't flinch. Is this really what we are?
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"Under Ohio law, the Ohio Attorney General is elected by the voters of the state and does not have the independent jurisdiction or ability to undertake investigations or prosecutions of juvenile crime. In this case, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney who has such authority delegated her authority to the Attorney General's office to act as special prosecutor in the matter. The special prosecutors are not from the Steubenville area and graduated high school elsewhere."
Source
-August 11-12, 2012. The incident that began this case occurred.
-August 14, 2012. The incident was reported to Steubenville Police.
-August 16, 2012. Electronic devices of people who potentially had knowledge of the incident were taken, pursuant to search warrants.
-August 17, 2012. Steubenville Police request technical and investigative support from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation "BCI" (a state agency supervised by the Ohio Attorney General). At the request of Steubenville Police, BCI expedited the evidence analysis. The analysis involved uncovering and reviewing tens of thousands of emails, texts, and photos from approximately a dozen electronic devices. The vast majority of such data was unrelated to the case. Investigators and forensic examiners never found any video of the alleged crime.
-August 22, 2012. Based on the investigation of the Steubenville Police, two juvenile males were arrested and charged. Their names are Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond. Suspects remained in juvenile detention until November 1, 2012 when the Visiting Judge (from outside the county) assigned to the case placed the suspects on home arrest.
-August 28, 2012. County Prosecuting Attorney delegates her authority to special prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
-August 30, 2012. Steubenville Police meet with the special prosecutors.
-The Juvenile Court trial in this case is scheduled for February 13, 2013. Circumstances surrounding media and public access to that trial are controlled by the Visiting Judge.
Source
Being originally from Small Town, Ohio, I can attest to the fact that people who live there have small minds and neither know nor care about things outside their own little world of shitty beer and Friday Night Lights. Quite simply, they make these dumb fucking children who have never been taught right from wrong into hero-figures because that is all they have. A few of those kids who are lucky/rich/smart enough will make it out, but for the majority of them, HS football is the peak of their lives, and they will spend their years after graduating living in the same town, working a shit job, and clinging to those days of "glory". Then when they have kids, they try to live vicariously through them, pushing them down the same path, and the cycle perpetuates itself. It's ridiculous and pathetic, but it's all these sad sacks of shit have.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
Anonymous has no accountability at all. If taken with a grain of salt and backed by good police work, what they provide could very well be useful, but they're essentially no different than the anonymous tip line. Tips do provide leads, but they also provide a significant ratio of noise as well.
We need police forces that at least have checks on them, even if they are sometimes broken. We definitely cannot rely on, or uncritically applaud the motives of those who choose to take certain actions under the Anonymous umbrella. It's like saying that being a little biased or corrupt is the same thing as being completely uncontrolled to begin with. The "intentions" of an anonymous tipster can be anything from helpful to just trolling or even character assassination, at the worst.
So, let me say "Good job" to the individuals who ran down this data, but given the fact that there are no entry requirements for the group, Anonymous remains, as always, completely unpredictable in both quality of work, and even intent.
IANAL, but I don't think that's true. I believe the prosecution can use illegally obtained evidence if it was obtained by non-government individuals. See:
Supreme Court Decision BURDEAU v. MCDOWELL, 256 U.S. 465 (1921)
IANAL: Not sure if that's true. If the police obtained the evidence illegally, it could not be used in court. However if someone else obtains it illegally (who has no connection with the police) and provides it to them, then it can be used.
"Evidence unlawfully obtained from the defendant by a private person is admissible. The exclusionary rule is designed to protect privacy rights, with the Fourth Amendment applying specifically to government officials."
- Burdeau v. McDowell, 256 U.S. 465
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It's cute that you think public officers are held accountable. See http://www.copblock.org/ for many examples - too many - where you're far from right.