Alleged sexual assault by MIS students

"The Accused" with Jodi Foster and Kelly McGillis

That'd be the one. btc.

Trivia: Jodie Foster won (among many other Best Actress awards) an Oscar. Kelly McGillis was at first cast as the rape victim but couldn't take the role due to having been a rape victim in real life.

That is certainly true of a lot of "rich kids" in the States! When you hear of stories of rape and other sexual misconduct related to schools, frequently (not always but frequently) you'll find that these kids have no idea that there could be consequences to their actions because their parents have always bailed (or bought) their way out of a jam! Happens in my hometown (Dallas, Texas) A LOT!

Yes, I can see how that would be. I just seem to notice German kids being a lot snottier than I am used to in America.

The young man who raped my friend is definitely benefitting from coming from a rich background, the best lawyers and whatnot.

And I am sure to get a lot of fire for this next comment, but I have to say that in a lot of cases, I do believe it is better to give the rape victim the benefit of the doubt, rather than the accused. Rape is such a difficult act to prove, and often comes down to "he said, she said". And having seen what my friend has gone through emotionally with feelings of being disbelieved, even though in her case, the brutality of the assault leaves no doubt to the crimed committed. Even the sex crimes division (male) detectives were harsh with her at times, making not-so-subtle innuendos about her 'asking for it'. In my friend's case, she was in such fear for her life as she was badly beaten and choked by her attacker, that in the end she didn't say no to him (though at the beginning she did) and was trying to be as docile as possible so that the attack would end. But even with this explanation, one of the detectives tried to turn that around to mean she was giving consent. And that is just wrong, any way you put it.

I know in a perfect world, everyone would have the benefit of the doubt, but we don't live in 'black and white' times. I know it is a terrible thing when a man is falsely accused, and the women that do that make it a thousand times harder for every real rape victim. But when it comes down to believing the word of the victim and believing the word of the accused, I would skew towards believing the victim, all other things being equal.

So fire away...

Leeza- i'd agree with you to point, but not really. In some cases where there isn't an attack and assault then it is harder to prove and i think both victim and accused should be given a fair chance without the accused already having a mark against him (or her).

oh the the investigators should definately remain neutral (and withhold comments and judgements)

knowing how emotional it can be to go through rape and to deal with it the rest of your life i'd say it'd be just as scarring for a false accused person to deal with. worrying if everytime they approach someone or do something it'll be construed to be something else thus perhaps inhibitating or complicating future relationships in his (or her) life.

The pupil of the MIS who was involved has been expelled - not even suspended. The school and the police are still considering which measures to take against the MIS pupils who sent the videos to their friends' cell phones.
It seems there was penetration with a bottle, and that a girl was actively involved in the assault (from the Süddeutsche Zeitung article quoted by Ed Bob earlier on).

Agree wi ya all the way Leeza

My neighbour is a MIS teacher. She says the issue MIS is facing is that students from several grades had video and/or photos of this very sordid event for friggin months. It was passed around, posted online, saved to laptops, etc. That’s disturbing.

yes, I think so too. good on the schoolgirl who finally told the teachers though.

I imagine she was one of maybe 10 or 15 who knew about this. What about the other ones? Force feed them "A Clockwork Orange" (the book, not the movie)?

This is a hugely sensitive subject. Rape is a disgusting and life scarring. With a daughter just about to enter her teens, every thought I have on the matter brings her well being to mind. However, to give the victim the benefit of the doubt would be appaling. You are right in saying it is difficult to prove. I would never condone allowing the accused attacker any lea way. However, a false accusation will live as a stigma for the rest of a mans life. If it goes to court, in the UK (not sure about Germany) the attacker is named at the beginning of the trial. The victim is, quite rightly, never named. An acquital still allows the press to photograph and name the acquitted. I have never quite understood this. For these reasons, however distasteful it may be, there can be no "favouring" of the victim in the case of rape and hard questions have to be asked of both accused and victim to ensure both get fair treatment.

I think that the UK process was probably right when it was introduced. However, there have been some well publicised cases where there has been an acquittal following a lengthy court case. So, if the accused is 'named and shamed' but then cleared by the court, the policy works against the accuser who is open to being sued for defamation of character etc.