Fox News Guest: 'I'm Not Saying She Deserved to Be Raped, But...'
If there's anything we can expect after hearing the news that a young girl has been raped, it's the accusation that she somehow wanted it, deserved it, or is lying about it.
The cases of Daisy Coleman and Paige Parkhurst—who were 14 and 13 respectively during their alleged attack in Maryville, MO last year—are sadly, no exception.
In this case, the accusations are coming from criminal defense attorney Joseph DiBenedetto, who this week appeared on Fox News to give his expert opinion on 14-year-old Daisy Coleman in particular, stating that "I'm not saying she deserved to be raped, but..." And so it begins...
DiBenedetto claims that Coleman's willingness to sneak out of her parents' house at 1am—an act committed by countless teenagers every year—is a "tell-tale sign" that she's lying about her rape. He states that Coleman was motivated to make her mother and others feel sorry for her so she could avoid punishment for getting caught.
And while his statement that "nobody forced" the 14-year-old to drink alcohol that night is true, what is also true is that hours after the incident, Coleman's blood alcohol content was still so high, she wasn't capable of giving consent under current Missouri laws. What's unfortunate is that those laws were enacted in August of this year, meaning that Coleman's case cannot be prosecuted under them.
Finally, DiBenedetto asks, "What did she expect to happen at 1am after sneaking out?" The answer to that seems painfully obvious; when Coleman left her house to hang out with friends, she expected to hang out with friends—not get raped.
There are more counter-arguments to be made against the legal consultant's talking points, but Fox News' Sheperd Smith actually summed up DiBenedetto's argument quite artfully on his own. "What you’ve done, Joseph, is taken an alleged victim of rape and turned her into a liar and a crime committer. That’s a far jump from a 1,000 miles away."
Related stories on TakePart:
• Clip of the Day: Nobody Asks to Be Raped
• Ladies, It’s Your Fault: Satirical Video About Victim-Blaming Goes Viral
• Afghan Rape Victim Free to Not Marry Rapist
Original article from TakePart
