Accuser recants, but stigma of rape charges remains

"Bearing False Witness:
Wrongful convictions: Research by D. Michael Risinger, Professor of Law at Seton Hall indicates that 3.3%-5% of those convicted of crimes are factually innocent. Some have estimated 130,000 to 260,000 American inmates did not commit the crime they've been convicted of. My son is one of them, convicted of murder despite exculpatory evidence. This blog is dedicated to exonerating him and others by raising our national awareness of wrongful convictions."

and a few organizations for reform here as well as other material.

The justice system is in need of serious reform.

Innocent untill proven guilty no more.....

The reality is this innocent man will continue the fight to clear his name. Under the current VAWA and Domestic Violence laws he is must consider himself as EXTREMELY lucky the charges were dropped and the records expunged. This case was handled by prosecutor who is obviously interested in justice. In fact I praise Frederick County State's Attorney's Office, Assistant State's Attorney Lindell K. Angel; Rebecca Littleton, a victim-witness coordinator; Cpl. Jason West, a sheriff's office detective; and Wayne Moffatt, a state's attorney investigator for handling this case as fairly as they did.
The laws such as VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) allows and in many cases encourages false rape and false abuse charges. Unlike all other criminal charges including murder, rape and domestic violence charges do not require proof of a crime to find someone guilty. Jury is instructed to accept the “victim’s” statement as positive proof of the crime. All the accuser needs to do is to state that she did not give a consent or that she “feels” she was in danger and the innocent often faces 15-30 years in prison.
This man was also lucky his girlfriend decided to tell the truth.
For those who think this is rare or nor possible, please research this common issue.

It would be interesting to see what the situation would have been and how the outcome would have changed if the tables had been turned around. HE would have been ignored in the first place because the woman is always the victim, maybe he still would have been arrested anyway. She might have received counseling and sent home because there's no way a woman can rape a man. If he had pursued it further his reputation would have still been tarnished and he would have still lost jobs because too many questions would be raised about the issue and everybody would have ended up in court where she would, to protect her dainty image, filed a complaint that he did rape her and he'd be right back where it ended up anyway. There is always two sides to every story and it's time that the law took notice of that in rape cases in light of the many times that this has happened and the power that women carry over men when it comes to this subject from times carried over through history. But times have changed and just as many women commit felony crimes as men do in this day and age of the race to equality. I think that in some areas, they have even overtaken men and are now wielding that power in vengeful ways, such as this young man experienced.

His bail should be returned and his payments stopped, and any effort made to help him secure a job by the police who were so quick to condemn him in the first place. I know that in the last 8 years the Patriot Act has changed the meaning of "innocent until proven guilty in this country," but maybe it's time to revisit that unconstitutional scare tactic and put it back in its place...like maybe...oh...Texas!

Rape accusations are like tarring and feathering.

nasty

this is ridiculous... i would sue someone.

because there is no way thats right.

edit: if this was a celebrity or a politician... the story wouldnt end like this.

"Bender said his arrest has cost him countless jobs and at least $40,000 in legal fees.
Even though his record has been cleared, he's still required to pay about $460 a month on his bail."

That is total BS. He can't even get a job due to the charges, and he still has to pay back the bail money and the legal fees EVEN THOUGH HE WAS FALSELY ACCUSED?
Seems like he's still being punished to me.

In California theres a "crime" called TERRORIST THREATS. Its a felony that carries a strike and a prison sentence. Whats amazing about TERRORIST THREATS is that once an alleged victim files an intitial report, the investigators and prosecuters can pursue a conviction EVEN if the victim RECANTS. Sadly, like this case in the post, most instances of TERRORIST THREATS are childish quibbles, lots are serious domestic disputes and some do expose threats to the public - but so many are labeled criminal and subject to the full force of the law when its just slogan of frustration, or nothing but an accusation. So, this guy is VERY fortunate to have had such a thorough investigating team that they took ALL the evidence, even the evidence that proved his innocence. Rare fortune indeed.

Very sad.