The Orlando False Rape Epidemic
The Orlando False Rape Epidemic
The False Rape Society
June 25, 2010
Orlando police said “false reporting has reached an epidemic level” after the recent “spike” in false rape reports. See here Three women in the past two months have reported being raped, only later to recant. See here Police were called out to investigate possible sexual assaults on May 14, June 13 and June 21, but all proved false. See here
The epidemic presents a textbook case of many of the issues we routinely report on:
*The known false accusers are young (18 and 20 years old), which is typical.
*Two of the woman identified imaginary stereotypical “scary” men as their “rapists” — men deemed by society to be more likely to rape (black and Hispanic), most likely to enhance the plausibility of their lies.
*At least one mainstream news media outlet reported an initial rape claim, which turned out to be a lie, as an actual rape (e.g., referring to the accuser as “the victim”). That, too, is far too common among the sloppy, and perhaps politicized, purveyors of rape news.
*The police voiced concerns about false rape claims but happened to leave out the single most serious concern: that when false rape claims are made, innocent men and boys too often are targeted as suspects, too often are arrested, too often are charged, and too often are convicted.
*Police openly expressed reluctance to arrest the false accusers. (For what other crime do police express reluctance to arrest criminals?)
*The mainstream news media sought out sexual assault counselors for quotes, one of whom repeated the usual discredited sexual grievance industry blather that women don’t lie about rape. The reporter allowed these far-fetched assertions to go unchallenged and, no doubt, thinks they are credible. I’ve written to him to disabuse him of these erroneous notions but haven’t received the courtesy of a reply or even a “thank you, but here’s why I think you’re wrong.”
*Among other things, one of the sexual assault counselors quoted doesn’t like “drawing attention” to false rape claims, a manifestation of the sexual grievance industry’s approach of sticking its head in the sand instead of actually doing something to end the false rape epidemic and, thus, enhancing the integrity of rape claimants.
*Some reporters were interested in the motives of the false rape accusers, presenting their “problems” in a sympathetic light. For what other crime is this done?
In short, just another day in our false rape society. Let’s examine the specifics of the epidemic:
Samaria Renford
“Ms. Rendford called police after she wrecked her boyfriend’s BMW on Rosamond Drive near North Orange Blossom Trail. . . . . The 18-year-old has been arrested after confessing when she was questioned about the details of the case. The arrest report states that Renford told detectives she found her boyfriend cheating on her. So, she took his car and intentionally crashed it. The report states Renford hoped if her boyfriend found out she was raped, he’d take her back and be nicer to her.” See here
Ms. Renford “allegedly told Orlando Police she had been raped in Rosemont by three men who forced her off the road early Monday morning.” See here “She went as far as to describe the suspect as three black males in their 20s wearing black clothing and masks.” See here
So do the police chalk this up as a “false report”? No. “. . . the case is now considered unfounded.” See here That, of course, illustrates the fact that there is no uniformity in the use of the term “unfounded.” But it often is used synonymously with “false.”
Luisa Martinez
“Police said another woman, Luisa Martinez, also made a false claim she was raped on East Pine Street in downtown Orlando.” See here Ms. Martinez is 20 years old. See here
How did the news media report the initial rape report? WFTV reported it as an actual rape: “Orlando police are searching for a man who raped a woman near Lake Eola early Sunday morning.” And: “Investigators questioned the victim Sunday morning at police headquarters and are still looking for the attacker.” (Emphasis added.) See here
Who was the scary “rapist”? “Orlando police said the suspect is a Hispanic male who was wearing a black shirt and jeans.” See here
Lake Eola Rape Report
“A report of a rape near Lake Eola in May was deemed fake after possible suspects were questions. Police are looking to arrest the woman who made that claim.” See here For reasons unfathomable, news outlets seem reluctant to publish the woman’s name. See here
We recently reported this case here.
Police Reaction
“Orlando police warned the public Tuesday morning that making a false claim is a crime after they said the 18-year-old woman who claimed she was raped Monday was lying. ‘We want victims to continue to report crime, we do not want to spend needless resources chasing ghosts,’ Sgt. Art Eld said in a press conference. Police said false reporting has reached an epidemic level. They said they will arrest anyone who makes a false report about a crime because doing so is against the law. ‘False reports cause unnecessary fear in the community,’ Eld said.’False reports take personnel away from other calls for service, increasing response time for real victims,” Eld said. “It also taints the jury pool in Orange County for true legitimate rape cases.’” See here
(The police officer failed to state the single most damaging aspect of a false rape claim: innocent men and boys are too often arrested, charged, and even convicted for a crime they did not commit.)
“Cops said they don’t want to arrest the women, but feel they must. They have the public’s support.” See here
“Another concern among police and advocates is backlash. Police are worried because of the recent false reports made by Renford and Martinez, other victims won’t come forward.” See here
Sexual Assault Counselor Reaction
Can you guess? “Nicole Quinn works with victims of sexual abuse. She said just because a report is considered false doesn’t mean something didn’t happen or that someone doesn’t need help. ‘Something traumatic has happened to them to make them come forward and make allegations of sexual assault, and they are usually in some sort of emotional trouble,’ Quinn said.” See here
The following reaction is even more problematic: “The leader of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence acknowledged that false rape reports make it harder for those who are real victims and also harder for police and others who serve victims. But Jennifer Dritt said police drawing attention to the false reports doesn’t help, either. ‘Ninety-two, 98 percent of [rape] reports are truthful, real,’ said Dritt, executive director of FCASV, which is based in Tallahassee. ‘That’s not necessarily any more true than for a case of, say, insurance fraud or burglary. And it makes victims even less inclined to come forward. It also contributes to the myth that women falsify the rape when they don’t.’” See here
Readers of this blog know that the assertions in the previous paragraph are not true. I wrote to the author of that news article, whose name is Walter Pacheco, and provided him with objectively verifiable information. He has not afforded me the courtesy of a response, or even a “thank you, but I think you’re wrong, and here’s why.” Mr. Pacheco’s full article, and my email to him, appears after the jump.
We long for the day when reporters in major US dailies become something other than stenographers for police and sexual assault counselors when reporting on alleged rape cases or on false rape claims.
Source: http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/2010/06/orlando-false-rape-epidemic.html
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