So you're a young man, say about 20 years old.  On the night of September 14th, the police arrest you and three of your friends.  It seems an 18-year-old woman has accused the four of you and another man or raping her that night.  She's a student at Hofstra University. 

You're handcuffed, taken to jail, booked and tossed into a cell.  You're facing up to a 25-year stretch in the penitentiary if you're found guilty.  Meanwhile, the Long Island daily Newsday has an article about you and your friends headlined "Police: Hofstra Student Raped on Campus, 4 Arrested."(Newsday, 9/14/09)  The New York Post plays it this way, "Hofstra Victim Lured With Phone." (New York Post, 9/15/09)  They both have photos of you and your friends.  And then online publications like this one chime in here, none too originally, with "Hofstra Student Raped on Campus, 4 Arrested: Police." (Huffington Post, 9/15/09)  It uses the word "rapist" to describe you.  And there's your photo again.

If you don't look exactly like every tabloid's favorite young black thug, at least you look pretty sullen, which is what people tend to look like when they've just been arrested for rape.  Those mug shots have a way of saying "Guilty."

Now all of this has you scared half to death.  Plus you've been identified as a rapist from coast to coast.  Your name and photo are everywhere, right under that word 'Raped.'  And you're behind bars which feels like this,

"To be a caged animal when you are not guilty is the worst."

Or this,

"I'm 19. I have my whole life in front of me, and suddenly it was all over. I was facing 5 to 25 years in jail."

Luckily, the woman takes only two days before she tells the police the truth - that she made it up.  The sex was consensual.  And that's a big relief.  At least you won't be facing a stretch in stir that's longer than you've lived so far.  But there are still those headlines, still those photos and still that word.

Danmell Ndonye told police that five men had tied her up with rope and raped her repeatedly in the bathroom of her Hofstra dormitory.  She screamed for help, but, at 3 a.m., no one heard her.  Police called it a "vicious" attack.  News media repeated verbatim what the police said.  No one wondered; no one asked you if it were true.

But luckily, one of your friends had a cell phone and he photographed the whole scene.  There was no rope and no screaming, just consensual sex.

Ndonye has been suspended from Hofstra.  The district attorney is considering criminal charges against her.  As of this writing, neither the Huffington Post nor Newsday has divulged her name, even though all articles name the men.  Why is Ndonye still anonymous in those publications?  They're not saying, but the DA's office is: 

Phillips said prosecutors are not releasing the woman's name at this time, both because she has not been charged with a crime, and because they fear for her safety.

Hmm.  I wonder if a man falsely accused of rape might fear for his safety.  I guess not since, if he would, they wouldn't release his name, right?

As far as I can tell, none of this violates any journalistic standards, so none of the young men should expect an apology any time soon.  None should expect news media to start using the word "alleged" to describe the accused.  And none should expect the presumption of innocence to really mean something in the press.  No, when it comes to the media, everyone's hands are squeaky clean in this case.

So young man, you ought to feel OK.  You only spent two days inside and the DA has dropped the charges, so everything's back to normal.  Just forget all about your picture in all those papers, right under that word.  After all, everyone else will.  Won't they?

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, Crime/Criminal Justice System/Police, False Accusations. You can trackback from your own site.