As I’ve noted on numerous occasions, false rape accusations are common, and are a serious problem. (To learn more, see my co-authored column Research Shows False Accusations of Rape Common, Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, 9/15/04. In the column we clashed with feminist professor Wendy Murphy). Those falsely accused of rape deserve our sympathy and support but rarely get it.

Newsweek is to be commended for its new article In Scandal’s Shadow, a sympathetic portrayal of Reade Seligman, one of the accused Duke players. Further, in the article Newsweek commendably and, it seems, apologetically recalls that “Newsweek published [Seligmann’s] mug shot on its cover at the time of the arrests.” According to the article:

“Last April, Duke lacrosse star Reade Seligmann huddled with his dad at a Durham, N.C., law firm. A stripper hired to perform at a team party on March 13 claimed several players raped her. In a lineup, she'd identified three of them as her alleged assailants. Seligmann now awaited a call from the prosecutor that would tell him if he was one of the players she'd singled out. He felt certain he would be cleared. The call came. Reade, 20, was being indicted for first-degree rape, kidnapping and sexual offense. He had a strong alibi—cell-phone records would show he was busy calling his girlfriend at the time the alleged crime was taking place—but the D.A. declined to hear it. As he heard the news, Reade looked at his dad. It was the first time he'd ever seen his father cry. Then it hit him: how was he going to tell his mom? Kathy Seligmann was home in New Jersey with her three other boys. He dialed her number. ‘Mom,’ he said, ‘she picked me.’

“Just before the new year, Reade sat with Newsweek for an exclusive four-hour interview, the first time any of the players has spoken in depth about the hellish months since the party that March night. Even now he gets emotional thinking about what his parents have gone through. Remembering that first call to his mother, he says, ‘It was like the life was sucked out of her.’ Before he hung up, he made her promise not to watch his arrest on TV. The next day, at home, she went to look for her 14-year-old, Ben. She found him in his room, sobbing in front of the TV. ‘Why are they doing this to him, Mom?’ he asked. Kathy looked over and Reade was on the screen, handcuffed and being led into jail.

“Out on bail and suspended from Duke, Seligmann went home nine months ago to cope with the prospect of serving 30 years in prison.”
 
Read the full article here.

As an aside, I’m proud to say that one of our advertisers, North Carolina family law attorney Steve Monks, ran against Durham, North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong for District Attorney in the November election, drawing 12% of the vote.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at 10:39 am and is filed under Feminism/NOW, Boys/Boy Crisis in Education/Schools, Men's rights, Crime/Criminal Justice System/Police. You can trackback from your own site.