Here's to Alexandria Goddard, Crusader for Steubenville Rape Victims

[riqster]

After the convictions, the Staties, General DeWine, Judge Lipps, and other deserving individuals are receiving much-deserved praise for their efforts.

But let's not forget the blogger who originally broke the story in spite of the cover-up. This brave woman is the reason the case was tried in the first place: http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/three-cheers-for-alexandria-goddard-crusader-for-steubenvilles-rape-victim/

Don't forget her contribution.

[Kolesar]

1. By the time I reached party-goer Michael Nodianos' Twitter account, I was horrified.

...As a blogger who first reported on the Twitter messages surrounding the alcohol-fueled party -- many messages later deleted -- it is sometimes surreal to look back and revisit the events of the past eight months.

When I first wrote about the unbelievable events that took place in this town where I lived for five years -- events which culminated in a passed-out female minor, Jane Doe, being carried around unconscious as men from the high school football team boasted about rape on video, tweeted jokes about violating her and, at one point, disgustingly said how "some people deserve" to be urinated on, I had NO clue the firestorm that it would cause.

All I wanted was justice for Jane Doe. And now with the verdict in, I am proud to have played any small part in that. And I'm proud of the thousands of people -- from Anonymous to Roseanne -- who rallied to this young woman's defense, even though no one seemed to do so the night that it mattered.

http://www.xojane.com/issues/steubenville-rape-verdict-alexandria-goddard

One must go to the link to see these "captured" tweets that they thought were deleted for good. The screen capture messages are horrible.

[riqster]

2. Go to the new local leaks page too

They built on her work, and deserve a shout-out as well: http://www.localleaks.me/localleaks/steubenvillefiles/index.html

[Comrade Grumpy]

14. There is some questionable journalism at Live Leaks.

Take this paragraph:

"And finally, Sheriff Abdalla and his brother run the largest illegal gambling operation in Jefferson County - employing bookies who work out of the Spot Bar as well as other establishments in Steubenville. But they are not the top of the "food chain" of this illegal gambling business in Steubenville. The Abdalla brothers answer to Paul (Paulie) Andreozzi, a member of the Mafia Gambino family. Sheriff Abdalla's brother is the largest importer of cocaine in Jefferson County. His brother was also a teacher, that is until he was caught having sex with a student and was fired. It should be pointed out that a careful examination of the above video will also reveal that the Sheriff is in fact a Mason."

Can anyone point me to a single source for any of these claims? Sources are fundamental, even if they're anonymous. But this doesn't even cite anonymous sources. It doesn't cite anybody or anything.

I like the bit about the sheriff being a Mason, too. Ooh, scary!

[riqster]

18. Oh, granted. That site requires filtration

But a good bit of it checks out. Useful, so long as one is willing to fact-check to separate the wheat from the cow flop.

[idwiyo]

3. K&R

[October]

4. Kick!!!

[sheshe2]

5. Kick & DU Rec!

[libdude]

6. Thank you and all

Thanks to all that worked to force a system to see that justice for this victim was made possible. Keep in mind, they may only serve a year, not certain if they can apply for judicial release. They should have been tried as adults.

[riqster]

7. Not sure why they weren't tried as adults

But thanks to people like Goddard, they were at least tried. And more arrests have happened since.

[bettyellen]

8. Jury trial... Would have been hard to put on there...

Tougher to convict, could go on for years too.

[riqster]

9. I'll buy that

The important thing is the conviction, and the Registered Sex Offender tag. And the follow-up arrests and grand jury. A message is being sent to these yahoos.

[Comrade Grumpy]

15. Uh, because they were juveniles?

[riqster]

17. Not always that cut and dried

Juveniles are sometimes tried as adults, depending on the circumstances.

[tblue37]

11. But they will always carry the sex offender

label--which is a well-deserved life sentence that will be a permanent hobble.

[caseymoz]

10. K&R: too bad every rape case doesn't have

someone like her. Her unusual intervention makes it explicit that in almost every case, the rapists do get away with it.

The sentences were too light, but this is an improvement.

Much work needs to be done. Consider that there were many witnesses; they took pictures and vids, and the perps and accessories broadcast their crime all over the Internet, and they still almost got away with it.

[riqster]

12. Very true!

Partly, it's rape culture. Partly, it's local law-enforcement not having the skills to use electronic media properly.

[allan01]

13. re:Here's to Alexandria Goddard, Crusader for Steubenville Rape Victims

thanks for ppl like ms alexandria goddard . a good one .

Don't jump on me. This post is just my opinion, which I am entitled to. Thanks.

[dembotoz]

16. yes

[riqster]

21. Kindly back up your assertions,with citations

One easy rebuttal: General DeWine has not ruled out a cover-up. Indeed, he has been obliged to order a grand jury to compel testimony from those who have refused to testify thus far.

Attorneys General do not take such steps, and do not leave open the possibility of further arrests, if there is definitively and absolutely no cover-up.

I suspect that the rest of your post is similarly incorrect, but hey, prove me wrong.

[riqster]

25. Not saying that there's no cover-up

Saying that, from the standpoint of an AG, there is no proof of a cover-up at the time he gave his statement. People in his position choose their words carefully.

And the rest of your accusations against Ms. Goddard, you'll be proving...when?

[hrmjustin]

26. I don't trust DeWIne at all.

[riqster]

29. So far as AG he's a mixed bag

The ACA suit was a crap move. On the other hand, he's done some good work with human trafficking, pill mills, and sexual assault.

I assume he does these things to get headlines and so boost his chances for re-election, but I'll take the results in spite of my cynical view of his motivations.

[frylock]

22. go back to stupidville and take it up with DeWine..

this shit isn't over by a long shot, and hopefully your buddy Nodianos sees some time in the slam.

[WillyT]

23. K & R !!!