Berea College Blames Victim for Being Sexually Assaulted

By Gayle Crabtree

Will the Decision Alienate Alumni and Donors?

Students learn that no means no well before they enter college. Apparently, that lesson is an elective course that some people missed. That could explain why legal counsel for Berea College blames a sexual assault victim for her injuries.

It all began in March 2010, when a Berea College student came forward claiming that she had been sexually assaulted by a (then) professor. The professor was later arrested under the charge of sex abuse which is a Class D felony. In January, Demetrius Semien pleaded guilty to lesser charge of fourth degree assault against the student.

A lawsuit filed by the student against the college is asking for $4,000 in damages. This includes past and future medical bills, mental and physical pain and suffering, punitive damages and also costs surround the litigation and a trial by jury.

The response was decisive. Legal counsel for Berea College blames the sexual assault victim for her injuries and is asking that the suit be dropped. Not only that but legal counsel for Berea College is also asking for "..any and all other relief to which it may be properly entitled".

First legal counsel for Berea College blames the sexual assault victim then it adds salt to the wounds. Not cool.

Sexual assault victims are not responsible being hurt. In today's world, there is no room to say that injuries "were caused and brought about by her own negligence and/or intentional act". This point of view is both harmful and antiquated.

My family has had nothing but overwhelmingly positive contact with the school. As the parent of an alumnus I am deeply saddened by the direction of counsel. As an advocate I am deeply angered.

The Sexual Assault Reporting Guidelines and Information in the Student Handbook tell a different story. It defines a representative as any college representative is any faculty or staff member. Yet, legal counsel for the school says that the former professor did not represent the school. It's difficult to have it both ways.


Advocates work to educate the public about the realities of sexual assault. For years we have taught that no means no. It doesn't mean "maybe" and it doesn't mean "yes" and it doesn't


mean that victims are responsible. Abusers create victims. Victims don't create abusers. It really is that simple.

There is a strong backlash as Berea College blames a sexual assault victim for her injuries. A petition on Change.Org is gaining momentum. Alumni do not support Berea Colleges Statements that place blame on Sexual Assault Victim. Bloggers are writing about it and people are talking about the situation on Twitter.

In this day of funding shortfalls the school would do well to stop the blaming. Every school needs a donor support base to help offset budget shortfalls. The majority of the support usually comes from alumni, their families and the public at large.

Right now, as legal counsel for Berea College blames a sexual assault victim, it is apparent that the alumni are paying attention. Whether they will help the college pay its bills in the future remains to be seen.

Richmond Register
LEX18 News

Gayle Crabtree is Founder and Executive Director of Hope For Healing.Org

Conduct Unbecoming of a Bishop….Allegedly

By Gaétane Borders

By now everyone has heard about the drama surrounding Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist church in Lithonia, GA.  About a week ago, two young men filed a lawsuit alleging that Bishop Long recruited them into the youth ministry and then had engaged in sexual acts with them.  Later on, two more young men came forward, all with similar allegations.  However, their lawyer also claims that there are a slew of others who may also come forward.  (Please note that Bishop Long has not been convicted of any crime at this point, and the lawsuit is very recent.)

The defendants charge that Long used his pivotal position to build a strong personal bond with them. They said the Bishop Long convinced them that sex with him was part of a healthy spiritual life. They also have claimed that Long violated his legal responsibility as a spiritual adviser. At time of print, Bishop Long adamantly denied the allegations and vows to fight them.  During a recent church service, Bishop Long compared his current legal fight with the biblical reference of David and Goliath, stating “I have five stones and I haven’t thrown one yet!” before swiftly exiting the pulpit while holding his wife’s hand.

As a long time Atlanta resident, I can honestly say that I have never seen the city more divided about an issue.  With a reported 25,000 parishioners, New Birth definitely has a strong presence in the metro area.  The point of contention is the fact that the alleged acts supposedly occurred when the boys were 17-years-old (past the age of majority here in Georgia).  What these skeptics fail to understand is how predators go about grooming victims.  For instance, in this case the young men came from single parent homes and were not accustomed to an affluent lifestyle.  One of the defendants said that the pastor would apparently use this to his advantage telling the young boy that he would "never let another man hurt him like his father did," according to the lawsuit. In addition, Bishop Long allegedly gave them lavish gifts such as cars, money, clothes, international trips, jewelry and access to celebrities, and asked them to call him “Daddy.” It was, reportedly, a few years into the relationship that things escalated. These types of actions, if true, could certainly be perceived as an attempt to groom these young men.  Take a look at one of the defendants discuss his experience first hand.

So how could it be that a 17-year-old adolescent boy would not know to tell his parent that this was occurring?  Keep in mind that most kids do not tell, and instead are so ashamed by the abuse that they hide it.  That is why it is so critically important to be cognizant of the warning signs.  Here are a few:

·         Waking up during the night sweating, screaming or shaking with nightmares.

·         Masturbating excessively.

·         Showing unusually aggressive behavior toward family members, friends, toys, and pets.

·         Complaining of pain while urinating or having a bowel movement, or exhibiting symptoms of genital infections such as offensive odors, or symptoms of a sexually transmitted disease.

·         Having symptoms indicating evidence of physical traumas to the genital or anal area.

·         Beginning wetting the bed.

·         Experiencing a loss of appetite or other eating problems, including unexplained gagging.

·         Showing unusual fear of a certain place or location.

·         Developing frequent unexplained health problems.

·         Engaging in persistent sexual play with friends, toys or pets.

·         Having unexplained periods of panic, which may be flashbacks from the abuse.

·         Regressing to behaviors too young for the stage of development they already achieved.

·         Initiating sophisticated sexual behaviors.

·         Indicating a sudden reluctance to be alone with a certain person.

·         Engaging in self-mutilations, such as sticking themselves with pins or cutting themselves.

·         Withdrawing from previously enjoyable activities, like school or school performance change.

·         Asking an unusual amount of questions about human

Behaviors to Watch for When Adults Are With Children:

·         Turns to a child for emotional or physical comfort by sharing personal or private information or activities, normally shared with adults?

·         Has secret interactions with teens or children (e.g. games, sharing drugs, alcohol, or sexual material) or spends excessive time to emailing, text messaging or calling children or youth

·         Insists on or manages to spend uninterrupted time alone with a child?

·         Seems “too good to be true," i.e. frequently baby sits different children for free; takes children on special outings alone; buys children gifts or gives them money for no apparent reason?

·         Allows children or teens to consistently get away with inappropriate behaviors?

Only time will tell if the allegations against Bishop Long are substantiated, and hopefully justice will be served...whatever the truth may be.  However, I do believe that Bishop Long’s lawsuit can serve as a reminder to parents that when it comes to our children, no one is given a carte blanche. Meaning, don’t just assume that simply because someone is nice to you that they won’t harm your kids. Don’t assume that just because they are part of your family tree that they won’t hurt your kids.  Don’t assume that just because someone is your spiritual advisor that they can’t hurt your kids. 


Gaetane Borders is the President of Peas in Their Pods and also writes the blog,The Parenting Pundit.

People Perish for Lack of Knowledge

By Charles Moncrief

These words from Hosea 4:6 were originally addressed to a people in a religious context. Taken in a vacuum, these words are applicable in our time -- especially when the result of ignorance has tragic consequences.

For an example, here is the opening paragraph of Susan Murphy-Milano’s journal entry.

It was two days after Christmas and 18 days after the ink barely dry on the divorce papers when, Matthew Schneider stormed into the home of his ex-wife [Brandy] as their 8year-old watched when "daddy" shot Mom and her new boyfriend multiple times before turning the gun on himself.

Brandy had filed for divorce from Matthew in April, even though Matthew had threatened to kill her. Her pleas for protection either went unheeded or resulted in tragically inadequate criminal action.

What can we learn from Brandy’s tragedy? Where did the legal system fail? Realistically, we should ask a different question: Where did the legal system fail this time?

Matthew Schneider spent the first year of their son’s life in prison because he had beaten Brandy severely, at least once while she was pregnant. Matthew was a juvenile sex offender, a convicted felon, and under house arrest at the time of the incident. He had made threats to kill Brandy if she divorced him. He had made harassing, and perhaps threatening, phone calls to Brandy following the divorce. And he possessed at least one firearm.

While this tragedy may have been preventable, my purpose is not to complain about the system’s failure. I’d rather address some misconceptions we may have about our nation’s legal system.

First, however, let me give a disclaimer. Please seek competent legal advice for any action you take after reading this. Nothing here is intended for any purpose other than to disclose facts, though they may betray a certain cynicism on my part.

Divorce cases are civil matters. The specifics of civil cases, such as details of the outcome and the proceedings themselves, are often placed under a gag order. So the evidence, rulings on admissibility, and testimony, remains unknown. To speak later about the case is to risk a contempt citation. This gives us two important clues that more can be done.

First, the operative word is "later." Critical documents and other materials gathered for presentation should be recorded privately as soon as the decision is made to proceed in the civil courts. In Brandy’s case hospital records, the prior criminal proceedings against Mathew, as much detail as possible describing the path to be taken (photographs, diagrams, grounds, names of parties, witness information, evidence to be presented, relief sought, etc.), and any other material should be made safe and a chain of possession established. One way to do this is to mail the documents, with a clear date-dime stamp from the Post Office, to a trusted friend or other person not involved in the case. This person must keep the container sealed until needed. These materials are exempt from any court ruling against disclosure, since the judge’s contempt power cannot reach the recipient of US Mail who has no standing in the case. The judge’s contempt power cannot reach backward in time either, making a readable date-time stamp absolutely imperative.

The next operative word is "gag." Not everything about a civil case can be gagged, and the gag can usually be lifted in a criminal case or by a civil appeals court. Examples of items not gagged are case ID (number and name), court, judge, and counsel. All of these are public record and subject to open disclosure.

Disclosure is the key to this article. Most people know very little of the recourse available following an unjust outcome or inappropriate proceedings in a court case. If a judge misbehaves or issues an inappropriate ruling, including a contempt citation, a person can file a complaint with the state’s commission on judicial conduct. Whatever the official name of the commission from one state to another, the purpose is the same: to allow a private citizen a measure of recourse against a defective judge. Any citizen can file a complaint with this commission for little or no cost, and that person need not have any standing in the case involved. Immediately the non-gagged items become useful. The citizen has the right to demand that the commission assign a case number to the complaint and to proceed with an official investigation. The least that occurs following such a complaint is that the judge must make an official response to the commission, and the complainant is exempt from any retaliation by the judge. And depending on the findings of the commission, action against the judge may be of benefit to all of society.

This should go without saying, but apparently it is not obvious so I’ll include some warnings.

• DO NOT approach the commission on judicial conduct until the case is closed. An angry judge is not a good thing to trust.
• DO NOT let your emotions direct your actions. Be at least strongly convinced that the judge did act inappropriately and not just in a manner that offended you. To proceed in good faith will protect you from legal action if your complaint seems frivolous.
• DO NOT write anything containing slander or libel about the judge. And while you cannot write about the detailed proceedings, you can mention in your call for investigation that a gagged item bears scrutiny.
• DOCUMENT your actions outside of the system. The judge cannot legal recourse, but social and unofficial retaliation can occur. This is not about secret police or midnight fire-bombings; it’s more like casual comments to your employer, to HR when you apply for a job, or a blackball if you run for office in the Rotary Club.
• Depending on the level of fear you may have about retaliation, you may want to notify the attorney general and local news media. Then if anything does happen, records are on file.
  

Note that if you file a complaint with the commission, it may have no apparent effect as far as you are concerned. But you establish a history for that judge. When the next person issues a complaint, the presence of previous action will be considered at least subjectively. The judge must then respond not only to the complaint itself, but to the repetitive nature as well.

The same sort of recourse is available against an attorney, though it’s more likely that the complainant must have standing in the case. Every attorney is a member of a local and perhaps a state bar association, and any person directly affected by an attorney’s misbehavior has the right to complain to the bar and request an investigatory hearing. Again, please avoid frivolity and emotion. And recognize that the course of any investigation will include an attempt to make you look and feel like the slime of the earth. It’s merely procedural, and it should not be taken personally. The slime is the system, not you.

I want to add one more caution, which is also not immediately obvious. Your attorney is not your friend. He or she is an officer of the court, and your case is not important enough for your attorney to risk being blackballed against practicing in a particular court. So any discussions about taking recourse, or sending materials to a friend ahead of time, should not take place with the attorney you have hired. Rather, you should consider an attorney in another jurisdiction, and another state if possible. The attorney then is not able to give you legal advice, but you can learn of general processes and acquire some resources to increase your chances of successful recourse when the system fails.

If you asked why a person with no standing in a case should proceed against a judge who misbehaves, I’ll refer back to the original theme. Notice the words were "People Perish for Lack of Knowledge" and not "A Person Perishes for Lack of Knowledge." The societal impact of court proceedings, and of the behavior of all court officers, is far greater than the outcome of a single case. Therefore, while you may think a judge who misbehaves is none of your business, a misbehaving judge is EVERYBODY’S business. If a defective judge knows he or she no longer enjoys the protection of anonymity or intimidation, the quality of our court system may be restored to a level resembling the original intention of our nation’s founders.

Brandy Schneider’s case was not isolated. Change a few details and you have thousands of other incidents that occurred in just the last ten years. The breakdown is not only serious; it is progressive. But the good news is that it is reversible, if only we will take the measures that are available to us.