Police say girl, 15, lied about rape

[Catherine Vincent]

Police say girl, 15, lied about rape
She made up an abduction story to avoid getting in trouble at home, authorities say

By ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A 15-year-old girl who claimed she was snatched off the street and raped by three men was actually having sex with a man she met on the Internet and lied to investigators to avoid getting in trouble, Houston police announced Friday.

The girl's story, which launched a manhunt involving the Police Department and the FBI and galvanized community activists, unraveled Friday when she confessed to investigators, according to Houston police Lt. Robert Manzo.

Investigators did not say what led the girl to confess, Manzo said.
"She made it up because she did not want to get in trouble with her parents," he said. The girl told investigators the sexual encounter with the man she met online was consensual, Manzo said.

more....
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3618820.html

I remember hearing about this story earlier in the week and was shocked to hear how three guys could snatch a young girl on the way to school and gang rape her. They interviewed some people in the neighborhood and they were very afraid. Now I read this and the girl was lying so she wouldn't get in trouble for screwing with some guy she met the internet.

But all in all, I am glad the gang rape didn't happen.

[Dhampir Kampf]

1. Still...

...it pisses me off how easily, some people can say the word, 'rape', without hesitation, when it helps themselves.

[Texasgal]

3. Agreed...

There could have been serious consequences if they had in fact "caught" 3 suspects.

Very serious, I hope this girl is punished to the full extent of the law. Draining our social services should be a felony if it isn't all ready.

[dysfunctional press]

2. while we're on the subject- is god a rapist?

How much choice did Mary have in the matter, according to the story?
didn't the angel gabriel, or the holy spirit or whatever pretty much just force him/itself on/in her?

or am i incorrect?

[alittlelark]

8. I've heard that before.....

but then I do not believe that the Bible was wriiten by 'God - inspired men'. Aramaic translates poorly. If I see a pre 400 AD bible I may change my tune.

It has been re-written by cloistered monks into what it now is.

[Yupster]

24. I read about an amazing archaelogical discovery

that is being gone through but will take decades, but basically they found a refuse pile somewhere in Egypt and some of the amazing discoveries they've found so far include papyrus fragments of ancient bible verses.

I don't know what the estimated dates are.

Anyone else read about this?

[DemBones DemBones]

13. Mary said "Let it happen to me as you have said,"

(or words to that effect, depending on translation) when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she was to bear a child. In those days, Mary was old enough to be married, so she was old enough to make the choice and give her consent to bearing the Son of God while remaining a virgin.

[pitohui]

16. well that ain't rape

that is consent to my mind

she was not that old tho, my catholic advisor assures me that mary was 14 when she gave birth to the son of god

today god would be a pedophile

[dysfunctional press]

25. but just how incredibly HOT mary must of been-

or do you suppose god was more interested in someone with "child-bearing hips"...?

i suppose that when you're looking specifically for a virgin, it's catch as catch can.

[Dorian Gray]

20. You are incorrect...

She assented to being the mother of God, according to the Bible. There was acceptance. Though there was no sex involved, as it was a divine miracle. The story isn't told that God was Jupiter/Zeus who took another form to have sex with a human woman. Those stories may be considered rape.

[baby_bear]

4. I don't this is uncommon

20 years ago I was the coordinator of a rape crisis help group in Oregon. I got a call from a girl who said she had been raped. We went all over town in a police car trying to identify the places she said she had been abducted from and taken to. After a couple hours, we went to the police station and the officer said I better talk to her. I knew what I meant. I talked to her in private and told her that I would not be angry with her if she thought she needed to change her story to tell the truth. I told her I was on her side regardless. She started crying and admitted she had had unprotected sex with an older guy and was scared.

So I helped her with that problem. But it was sad that she thought she had to say she had been abused in order to get help.

I don't think things have changed much, except to go downhill. Once Roe v. Wade is further undermined or overturned, we will see more of this, not less.

b_b

P.S. Please write to your senators tonight and ask them to join the filibuster of Alito.

[Lindacooks]

18. Sigh. The number of untrue rape claims is the same as any

other lied-about crime: 2%. That means that 98% of women who say they were raped WERE RAPED. The liars get lots of press time, which is why it seems like more.

[baby_bear]

22. Luckily this didn't get press, but I know what you mean.

This girl hurt our group's efforts because she added to the police skepticism of rape charges.
But in the end, she herself was helped. It's just too bad that social mores made her feel
she had to lie.

b_b

[Lindacooks]

27. You're right.

The thing is, this small minority of girls and women who falsely accuse of rape are pretty seriously psychologically messed up in order to do that kind of thing in the first place. So I wish they could get the help they need.

[benburch]

5. Technically, still a rape.

As at 15 she cannot consent. But not a violent abduction and rape.

[Catherine Vincent]

6. Oh yes, technically it's statutory rape.

And I believe they plan to charge the guy.

[Dr.Phool]

12. He can plead insanity

He's just crazy about that stuff!:evilgrin:

With apologies to Cheech and Chong.

[LisaL]

19. They might charge him, but how are they going to convict him?

It's not like the victim is going to be believable, no matter what she says from now on, even if it's the truth and nothing but the truth.

[Dorian Gray]

21. A few problems with that...

One is that you are thinking about this in terms of today's society. While we all think that 15 year old girls can not give consent, when the average lifespan was 40, 13 year old girls were getting married, having families, etc. It was life then.

Second, we don't know for sure what age she was, as it was never actually said in the Bible. She was young, and a virgin. That is all the story tells us. (And of course, there are the many many many people who do not take the Bible literally, or even figuratively, so anything written in it is nonsense.)

Thirdly, according to the story, there were never sexual relations. It was said, and it was done. So, no pedophilia involved.

I know that these posts are tongue in cheek, but I just wanted to briefly put my 2 cents in. I know that many do not believe in any of this stuff, but Mary is actually a very important figure to myself. So, just wanted to keep facts straight.

As for anybody who would lie about being raped. That's reprehensible. And sadly those are the women that people point to when others claim that they would never rape anyone. That's why people will never believe the Bill Cosby's, the Mike Tyson's, the Kobe Bryants, the Clarence Thomases and the Michael Jacksons are guilty of the crimes that they are accused of.

[benburch]

26. I was referring to the original article...

not the fictional Virgin Mary.

[DemBones DemBones]

7. Can a 15 year-old legally consent to sex in Texas?

I don't doubt that the girl said the sex was consensual or that she feels that way.

My point is that it sounds like a case of statutory rape involving a man trolling for young girls online. The law only recognizes consent when a girl, or boy, reaches a certain age, usually older than 15.

[Dr.Phool]

9. Sounds like Tawana Brawley is on the loose again.

We just had an incident near Clearwater, Florida this week. A girl, about 15 years old went home and told her father that a teacher had fondled her inappropriately. The father went to the classroom and punched the teacher in the face. The teacher was arrested and charged.

Now it seems that after interviewing the other students, and re-interviewing the "victim", she was mad at him for sending her to the office for misbehaving in class, and getting her a detention.

Boy is daddy gonna be pissed when he goes to jail for assault, and gets sued.

[Texasgal]

11. I read about that...

and I saw the clip on the news, the Dad looked like some CRAZED maniac. I guess that's what happens when you have knee-jerk mentality.

[NVMojo]

10. technically, two girls did this to my son ...$26,000. later, he never even

got to the preliminary hearing within 12 months of the accusations and then finally the main girl admitted they made it up because they were mad at him. The other girl was a virgin and it was verified in the rape exam at the hospital, the main girl refused a pregnancy test and AIDs test and veneral disease test at the same rape exam they went to together. Like I said, 12 months and $26,000. later they admitted they lied. My son never even made it to a prelim. The loan to hire an attorney is still being paid off and the city pd/count AG was going to charge them with filing a false police report but it hasn't happened yet. We think they are embarassed.

One of the girls was a pakistani whose parent were here on green cards that expired at the time just after they made the false accusation and Homeland Security did more to protect them then my son, an American. There's some weird ass law that allows their green cards to be renewed if one of them is involved in a criminal investigation. Since the girl was 17, they all got their green cards renewed. Fuck the patriot act!

[jbnow]

23. If they are charged

will they have to pay your son's attorney fees?

It seems someone should have to repay you for that. Even knowing you are innocent you need an attorney and felonies are not cheap. It just seems so unfair on false charges when they admit it was false.

I am sorry you fell through this ravine in the system. I am glad the girls confessed before your son lost time in jail like other innocent defendants can.

I'm not saying false rape claims are common, but the wrong person being charged for a crime is too common. Even "lucky" enough to finally be cleared the time lost or the huge sums paid out are life changing.

What a heavy burden.

[madfloridian]

14. A 15 year old lied about a teacher's aide here recently....

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS/601280366/1134

BRADENTON -- "A teenager who accused a teacher's aide of molesting her -- prompting the girl's father to march into school and punch the man in the face -- made it up, officials said.

School surveillance cameras show the aide was not even in the room when the 15-year-old said she was touched inappropriately, said Lakewood Ranch High School Superintendent Roger Dearing.

"We have found that (the aide) is not guilty of what this young lady has accused him of doing, that her accusations are false," Dearing said."

[LisaL]

17. And that radio station who declared the man was

"father of the year" before it was clear that the girl lied, and promised the family 500 Daytona tickets? I imagine they can expect a nice lawsuit from the teachers' aid?

[LisaL]

15. I wonder why one imaginary rapist wasn't enough.

And she had to make up three. What goes on in those teenage heads sometimes?