Handling of rape claim at Brown raises questions

[Liberal_in_LA]

Handling of rape claim at Brown raises questions

William McCormick III crossed the wrought-iron gates of Brown University on a full scholarship, a champion wrestler from Wisconsin who expected four years at an Ivy League institution known for educating generations of bright and enterprising minds.

He lasted mere weeks.

In September 2006, he was accused of stalking, harassing and ultimately raping a female acquaintance — allegations he says are false. The accuser was a third-generation legacy student who, when first reporting trouble with McCormick, also mentioned that her father was an "alum and a big supporter of Brown."

The day after the rape allegations were made, McCormick was called into a meeting with administrators, barred from campus and put on a flight home pending a disciplinary hearing.

The following month, McCormick was gone for good.


Before the hearing, he signed a confidential agreement — under pressure, he says, from a lawyer for the accuser's family — in which he agreed to withdraw from Brown. In exchange, the accuser agreed to let the matter drop.


A Brown administrator agreed to reflect on his transcript that he had withdrawn for "medical reasons" but also told him he was ineligible for readmission, even though he had never been found responsible for rape. McCormick transferred to Bucknell University, which says he's a student in good standing.


The school allowed the matter to be closed through a private contract instead of a traditional fact-finding hearing that could have vindicated McCormick or established that an assault had actually occurred. The arrangement was meant to provide a tidy outcome to a dispute fraught with emotion and wildly divergent accounts.


The lawsuit alleges that administrators failed to adequately investigate the accusations, and permitted a blameless student to be railroaded from campus to placate a major donor.


There is another possibility, though — that Brown administrators deemed the allegations credible but allowed the complaint to be quietly disposed of, freeing someone accused of rape to wipe the slate clean as he transferred to another school.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/05/31/national/a091508D96.DTL#ixzz0pXXY68mX

[Odin2005]

1. Fucker! The rapist should be IN JAIL.

[ecstatic]

4. If he did rape her, why didn't she press charges? nt

[Arkana]

7. That's my question--although rape victims not pressing charges out of fear

is not unheard of.

Also, I have to wonder why the girl felt the need to stress the fact that her father was a Brown bigwig.

I think they should have waited until the damn investigation was over before forcing the kid out of the school permanently--if it turns out he didn't do anything, some girl has ruined his life forever.


(NOTE: THIS IS NOT ME TRYING TO TRIVIALIZE THE CRIME OF RAPE IN ANY WAY.)

[tammywammy]

11. Honestly, it's just strange that a rape can be reported to a school

and the school NOT turn it over to the police. I would have thought that was mandatory considering the seriousness of such an allegation.

[qazplm]

13. it certainly makes sense

it does make one wonder what was going on. Were both members of rich families? Or one of them?

[tammywammy]

17. Her family is, the article makes that clear

Her father's an alumni and "a big supporter". It doesn't mention anything about the guy's "status."

[qazplm]

20. that's what I am wondering

if the kid is poor, then there may be "issues" with her and this guy. Odds are (whether there was a rape or not) these two were dating, and that would look "bad" for the girl and her family and thus this hush hush "resolution"

My only guess.

[MadMaddie]

18. These schools have their own police and unto them everything

goes into a black hole. I think the police directly communicate with the school administrators to make incidents simply go away so they don't impact the schools reputation.

[tammywammy]

19. That's just so messed up. n/t

[bettyellen]

23. they didn't involve the brown police either- or investigate the dredibiltiy of her accusation either

money corrupted the process. they kicked this guy out of Povidence. Wow.

[MadMaddie]

16. It's possible that she didn't because of her alum father

[seabeyond]

27. i dont know a single female that has pressed charges of rape. i do know women that have been raped

and rape is not something we talk about, so how many women i know that have been raped, i am not aware of is another factor.

most rapes are not reported. for a number of valid, legitimate and not so valid reasons.

[ecstatic]

28. So true; but the story is being talked about nonetheless

It just seems odd to go with the "do you know who my family is?!" approach as opposed to the "I'm going to fight to have you sent to jail" approach--considering the story is now out there anyway. :shrug:

[Canuckistanian]

30. Conversely, why didn't HE ask for a police investigation?

I'm sure if he were innocent, he'd like to clear his name and prevent a future prosecution on a FELONY crime.

[ecstatic]

31. How would he go about doing that though? Demand to be arrested?

Turn himself in for a crime he thinks he's innocent of? If she doesn't press charges, at best he could do a civil suit to clear his name. The whole thing is weird.

[Raineyb]

32. This whole thing reeks. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. What makes you so sure he is a rapist?

[tammywammy]

9. It doesn't seem positive he is a rapist n/t

[Raineyb]

22. I think you have the wrong person as the fucker in this situation.

Sounds to me like some legacy twit with connections lied her ass off and used her connections to make the person go away with no hearing so that her malfeasance wouldn't come to light.

[Odin2005]

26. Oops, I guess I didn't read the article closely enough!

I've been very touchy about this kind of thing since a friend of mine was raped a year ago. my bad. :blush:

[jwirr]

2. Either way rape is against the law and should not be swept under the

rug. Brown should know better.

[Liberal_in_LA]

24. Brown handled the case the way the Vatican would - move the accused to another location

don't involve the law

[Donald Ian Rankin]

3. There is no good answer to this one.

I do not want to be treated as innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
I do not want to be prohibited from discriminating against someone who I am 85% confident is a rapist.
The two desires are not possible to square.

That said, I think that forcing him to leave university but not pressing any charges against him sounds like the worst of all worlds - it doesn't make the world any safer if he's guilty and it screws up his life even if he isn't.

[Captain Hilts]

6. None of it adds up. nt

[Captain Hilts]

5. Brown's known for schooling the rich kids of celebrities. nt

[dsc]

10. No matter what this was a horrible result

either a rapist was let go with a free start or an innocent man was nearly ruined. Brown's handling of this was horrible and they deserve to be sued over it.

[qazplm]

12. that I can agree with

the police should have taken over the investigation, and then a prosecutor should have decided if there is enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

That's the way the system works. In the interim, he should have maintained his status as an innocent until proven guilty student. If convicted, then you can easily remove him, if acquitted then the status quo hasn't changed.

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. agreed. And Brown's bungling of it means it's too late to gather eviden

[tammywammy]

25. Yes, they do deserve to be sued. n/t

[MrScorpio]

14. The rich play by a different set of rules than the rest of us.

What a fucked up world

[proteus_lives]

21. This isn't rape. It's a rich kid fucking a poor kid.

Sickening.

[Brickbat]

29. No matter who's telling the truth, this is a terrible outcome either way.