[acb-hsp] Rape Case Not Prosecuted Because of Mental Disabilities

[JA Lieberman]

This is one of the saddest articles I  have ever read. Persons with
disabilities  apparently are not afforded the same right to say no or
considered capable of saying no. I need to have agood cry over this one. 
Jule Ann

Jule Ann Lieberman 
EZ2C Foundation  
www.ez2cfoundation.org 
-----Original Message-----
From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
peter altschul
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2013 11:38 AM
To: Acbhsp
Subject: [acb-hsp] Rape Case Not Prosecuted Because of Mental Disabilities

15-Year-Old Girl Raped, Police Dismiss the Case Because Victim and Attackers
Have "Low IQ's"
  Laura Gottesdiener February 13, 2013
  In some of the most disturbing and sickening news of the day, New York
state police have decided that a 15-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted
by three boys was in fact not sexually assaulted because both she and the
boys are mentally handicapped.
  In May of last year, three boys attacked a 15-year-old mentally challenged
student at Martin De Porres Academy, a school for students with special
needs in Long Island.  According to the police report, one of the boys
repeatedly banged her head against the table while the other two forced her
to give them oral sex and then tried to have forcible anal sex with her.  In
interviews with the police, the girl explained how she repeatedly said "no" 
and "stop" but that the boys continued to assault her.  When she came home
from school that day, her mother noticed that she had blood on her
underwear.
  But the Nassau County Police Department recently decided to drop the case
after learning that the boys also had learning disabilities and mental
handicaps, which apparently made the situation far too complicated for the
police department.
  The department's spokesperson told the stationew York Daily Newsst, "It
was more of a consensual situation with their mental capabilities."
  Of course, head-banging, blood and repeated pleas to "stop" are never
consensual situations--regardless of the IQ level of the attackers.  But, in
this case, the police department is even further off target.  As the
family's lawyer explained, the girl has an IQ of about 50 points, which puts
her below the cognitive functioning level to consent to sex at all.
  The school meanwhile, has played its own part in attempting to cover up
the case.  Only weeks after the assault occurred, the school sent a letter
to the police department, that read:
  "The school administration request (sic) no further police action and will
handle additional behavioral and social issues with traning (sic) and
additional counseling." The school did fire the teacher who was present in
the classroom during the attack.
  Women and girls with mental disabilities are frequently the targets for
sexual assaults--and few of their aggressors are ever prosecuted.  According
to one study, a staggering 80 percent of women with these disabilities are
the targets of rape or sexual assault in their lifetimes.
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