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

[Baracco, Andrew W]

This is disgusting!

Andy


-----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 8:38 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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