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Don’t Rush To Judgment When A Sex Crime Is Alleged
In a nationally televised press conference on Thursday, State Attorney Willie Meggs announced that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will not be charged with sexual assault.
While it sounded as if Meggs found the accuser to be generally believable, gaps in her memory coupled with the discovery of DNA from another man (apparently the complainant’s boyfriend) meant the standard for charging and prosecuting Winston was not met.
The case, which dates back to Dec. 7, 2012, is considered closed. While Winston will not be prosecuted, he will not be exonerated either.
The same is true of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was accused but never arrested following an incident in Georgia a few years ago.
Today, about a thousand miles north of Tallahassee, a jury has convicted a woman of lying about having been raped.
The jury took less than 30 minutes to convict Sara Ylen after a three-day trial in St. Clair County, 60 miles northeast of Detroit, according to the Associated Press.
Ylen was charged with making up a story of two men attacking her in her Lexington home in 2012.
Ylen, 38, was also convicted of tampering with evidence after police said she used makeup to create what looked like bruises.
The man she accused, James Grissom, insisted he was innocent. He served about a decade in prison before his 2003 conviction was overturned last year based on new evidence about Ylen’s credibility.
Grissom was a spectator this week during Ylen’s false rape trial.
“Strange. The last time I was coming down to this courtroom I had handcuffs on,” Grissom told the Times Herald. “I figured I had to be here, just to see what she gets away with and what she don’t.”
Sexual assaults are horrible crimes. False accusations of rape are horrible crimes, too.
In Michigan, it looks as if Justice was finally done.
In Tallahassee, we may never know.
If you’ve been accused of a sex crime contact me today and I will meet with you at no-charge to discuss your options.