Friday, December 3, 2010

Lizzy Seeberg's Death:(update) Rape Case at Notre Dame Highlights Need for Belief and Better Investigating

The parents of the young woman spoke on the morning news-video HERE.
I will say that I know the type/ or factors/dynamics in the kind of case they are speaking of. From time to time, there is a case where
A young woman does everything she is suppose to,
then, those in charge act is if there is no emergency. Perhaps because of what has become a norm in crowded college towns, the Giant Drunken Hookup Scene)
 Then, there is hemming and hawing. I have seen parents who are at a loss in how to proceed--the crime is reported, and nothing is /seems to be done. The man is not questioned for days, weeks or months. I know the police want to be correctly ready to interview the accused, but who can convince me that it is good law enforcement to let things drift so long? Stories are concocted and crosschecked. While the victim usually is often interviewed alone w/ interviewing officer with a tape recorder under lights at the Station,
 the police might go to the accused's house and "have a chat"--I myself have become very frustrated (tape head with duct tape to keep it from exploding)  from time to time over the years, depending on who is in charge of law enforcement at the time. (See how People of Integrity change everything. ponder: if lawenforcement and prosecutors'offices in a given place are well-run, v. they are not... remember hays
I have worked with parents, husbands, siblings who are absolutely ShellShocked at the lack of pressure put on these thugs, and the "well, are you sure it was rape?" attitude put on the victims. --as the starting point.

Many in the field have become jaded in dealing with the crime/is it a crime/ for many years.
accusations withdrawn.
(sadly, by the deeply wounded)
 juries won't convict.
war is hell.
This attitude would be present if a citizen reported, for example, being beaten?

For a real girl
like you
 like your sister
being raped
that is to say,
She Was Raped
.in that case,
being Jaded
or suspicious
or bored
or
"why ya'll drink so much?"
or
anything but

I'm so sorry. How can I help?

Really, REALLY HURTS.

maybe
sometimes it hurts
the parents
more than the crime victim


Notre Dame's Response HERE
and


 From ABC news:
" Lizzy's parents said that the day after their daughter reported the incident, Lizzy received a disturbing text message from the friend that had left her alone in the player's room.
"Don't do anything you'd regret. Messing with Notre Dame football is a bad idea," read the text message.

The Seebergs said that the investigation's timeline disturbs them. Lizzy reported the incident Sept. 6. It took police 15 days to interview the football player, who has not been named.
"If you look at that two week period of time…you'll see that this football player took the football game twice…160,000 people saw this individual before the police did," Tom Seeberg said. "Anybody looking at some of the facts of this timeline has to reach the conclusion that this wasn't a serious investigation."

 Read these,  send me your thoughts:
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/25/notre-dames-shameful-punt-in-the-probe-of-lizzy-seebergs-sad-d/
prosecutor's letter to Lizzy
Miscellany News:
http://www.miscellanynews.com/2.1577/survivors-of-rape-need-our-support-1.2419087
The Notion (Political Blog):
http://www.thenation.com/blog/156708/ncaa-should-shut-down-notre-dames-football-program
Mail Online:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1332676/Teen-student-commits-suicide-alleged-rape-Notre-Dame-football-player.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
USA Today: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/11/suicide-follows-alleged-notre-dame-attack/1
New York Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/11/21/2010-11-21_notre_dame_accused_of_mishandling_sexual_assault_investigation_after_college_fre.html
Chicago Tribune (1): http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-21/news/ct-met-notre-dame-story-20101121_1_sexual-attack-campus-police-sexual-assault


Chicago Tribune (2): http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/notre-dame-case-forwarded-20101122,0,3665454.story

"-After the fourth Tribune reporter asked Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly a question Sunday regarding the allegation one of his players sexually attacked a 19-year-old woman who later apparently committed suicide, Kelly cracked wise.
"I didn't know you guys could afford all those guys," Kelly said during the conference call, a reference to Tribune Company's lingering bankruptcy.
That zinger came a few minutes after Kelly kidded about the damage a broken nose would do to linebacker Manti Te'o's good looks.
I don't know why anybody was in a mood to joke.
Former St. Mary's College student Elizabeth "Lizzy" Seeberg is dead and, before apparently taking her own life, she alleged an incident involving a Notre Dame football player that traumatized her.
There are only two witnesses to what happened inside that dorm room the night of Aug. 31, and one of them tragically is no longer with us. The other has worn a gold helmet every Saturday since university officials became aware of the allegation. We may never know the whole truth."
Chicago Tribune / Notre Dame Coach:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-1122-haugh-notre-dame-chicago-20101121,0,2787998.column

Videos from local news channel, WNDU:
http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/Chicago_Tribune_SMC_student_committed_suicide_after_reporting_ND_football_player_sexually_assaulted_her_109713604.html?storySection=comments

Another silencing in relation to Notre Dame's football team from 2006:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/02/earlyshow/contributors/tracysmith/main2144397.shtml


Believe?
http://marysbeagooddogblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-didnt-she-tell-someone-she-was.html

http://marysbeagooddogblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/rape-chargesdropped-after-14-year-old.html

3 comments:

  1. Brian Kelly is a scumbag,his day is coming. Pray for vindication for this young girl, all these religious hypocrites will answer for their lying tongues and disregard for the innocent.

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  2. Numerous posts on this blog deal with troubles in reporting, in prosecuting, in media coverage of this crime. Many believe that false reports are typical. (They are the only rapes reported by media, it seems) Until we recognize on a societal level that we have a SERIOUS problem and a significant portion of young men who have a selfish thuggy attitude, these horrible events will continue. When will we talk about all the men who are either such embiciles or wicked thieves that they cannot figure out how to get consent before acting as they do?
    My heart goes out to these parents.
    I know some parents who have been through similar nightmares but have been spared the ultimate sad outcome. God Bless all who are enduring this. We must educate jury pools, as one reason the cases are not taken to court is that prosecutors feel unable to get convictions in these cases.

    ReplyDelete
  3. by the way, as the advocate i have worked with several young women over the years who would not report being raped because the rapist was a "famous" athlete on campus and they feared being shunned. I hear the same story from other universities as well.

    ReplyDelete