Columbia professor is charged with incest, accused of bedding young relative for 3 years

[The Northerner]

A popular Columbia professor was charged on Thursday with incest - accused of a sick sex relationship with a female relative, prosecutors said.

Political science Prof. David Epstein, 46, bedded the young woman over a three-year period ending last year, according to court papers.

He was arraigned before a Manhattan judge on a single felony incest count.

"We ask that everyone remember that he is innocent until proven otherwise and that these allegations are nothing more than allegations," said Epstein's defense lawyer Matthew Galluzzo.

University spokesman Robert Hornsby said that Epstein "is now on administrative leave and will not be teaching students."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/12/09/2010-12-09_columbia_professor_is_charged_with_incest_accused_of_bedding_young_relative_for_.html#ixzz17pkVlv2d

[MineralMan]

1. Interestingly enough, he's also a blogger at HuffPo.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-epstein

The woman was his daughter.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/david-epstein-incest-char_n_794864.html

It just goes to show, you never can tell...

[bluedigger]

2. Sick? Yes. Criminal? Yes. DU worthy? meh...

According to the link it was between two adults. Other than the fact he has blogged on Huffpo it should be a private matter of local interest at best.:boring:

[cali]

3. a private matter? the guy was a high profile blogger on HuPo

[bluedigger]

4. Was he blogging about sexual mores?

I am IN NO WAY advocating for his sexual activities, but I wonder how often incest between adults is prosecuted. IF he is being singled out by the DA for political reasons, then that would be of interest. Otherwise, his legal difficulties are about as pertinent to his political views as if he were a prescription pill abuser. I suppose blogging makes him a public figure, but I never heard of him, and after this, probably never will again.:shrug:

My bigger point is that there have been a lot lot of sexual abuse cases posted here lately for no good reason that I can see. If we posted every such case we could easily fill up every forum here, as it is a common problem everywhere, unfortunately. There are occasionally cases with potential to affect public policy, but mostly it seems like prurient interest, at best... I can get a police scanner for that.

[Nevernose]

5. If it was incest, she'd probably have been arrested, too.

Unless the laws are different in NY than where I live, incest is between two (or more) willing participants. Otherwise, it's sexual assault, even if the sexual assault is against an immediate blood relative.

Before I was a teacher, I worked at the Family Court. Actual incest, besides being disgusting, is pretty rare. In several years, only one case came through the office, and it was discovered accidentally.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. yeah and apparantly started after she was 18

[ProgressiveProfessor]

23. Early reports said otherwise...but you are quite correct

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. turns out its his daughter, and to that degree i support why he was the only one charged

a parent child relationship is a power dynamic and it makes sense why the kid wasnt charged

[appleannie1]

9. She will not be charged

Because she's seen as the victim. Prosecutors could have made a case against the daughter, but when it comes to incest, the authorities tend to focus on one party. In this situation, "consent" is irrelevant, since it's the act itself that constitutes the crime; and blame tends to fall on whichever half of the incestuous couple has more control. A law professor told Salon today that children are generally assumed to be part of a "protected class" even when they're above the age of consent. So the older party tends to be considered the guilty one, although in some cases—a man caring for his bedridden and elderly mother, for example—the ages of perceived control could be reversed.

http://www.slate.com/id/2277681/

[LisaL]

11. Makes sense to me.

[rug]

14. It doesn't say who she is but she has to be in one of these categories.

NY Penal Law

S 255.25 Incest.

A person is guilty of incest when he or she marries or engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with a person whom he or she knows to be related to him or her, either legitimately or out of wedlock, as an ancestor, descendant, brother or sister of either the whole or the half blood, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.

Incest is a class E felony.

[WinkyDink]

19. Daughter. Other media have been explicit.

[Freetradesucks]

6. She will probably be arrested as well,

apparently she is 24! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

[cali]

7. I'd bet almost anything, she won't be.

[Freetradesucks]

13. Why not?

24 is hardly a child.

[LisaL]

24. Because in such a relationship as alleged it is assumed there is an

unequal power distribution.

[Freetradesucks]

21. ...............................

[donco]

10. I wonder how

the police found out about it?

[LisaL]

12. According to the article, sources say the two

exchanged "twisted text messages." Somebody else could have seen the messages and reported it to the police?

[WinkyDink]

15. His daughter, not merely "a young relative".

It's his adult daughter.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/10/david-epstein-incest-char_n_794864.html

[UndertheOcean]

16. Ok , why is sex between two consenting adults morally wrong ? However disgusting you find it ?

[WinkyDink]

18. It's a father and daughter. Are you joking here?

[UndertheOcean]

20. no , I am not ... and please explain to me if consent is there what is wrong ?

You could have equally said : " It's two men . Are you joking here ? " or "it is two women. Are you joking here ? " I frankly don't see the difference ? There is this assumption that some sex is natural and pure , and some is not ?

Sex is sex , and I only draw the line at consent (between adults)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. because society is vested in making some things taboo for the greater good

partly because children of incest have much higher incidents of genetic abnormalities. sometimes we make laws to protect society as a whole, above individual freedoms.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. Bad luck for the other 2 Professor David Epsteins

One at Richmond University: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Epstein_%28law_professor%29

One at Warwick in England: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/maths/people/staff/david_epstein/