Kentucky teen faces charge for naming attackers.

[LNM]

Source: The Courier Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A 17-year-old Kentucky girl who was upset by the plea deal reached by a pair of teenagers who sexually assaulted her is now facing a contempt charge for tweeting their names in violation of a court order.

Savannah Dietrich of Louisville told The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/NEcirr) she is frustrated by what she feels is a lenient deal for her attackers. After posting the names on Twitter, Dietrich wrote, "I'm not protecting anyone that made my life a living Hell."

The Associated Press does not normally report the names of sexual assault victims, but Dietrich and her parents say they do not want to shield her identity and want her case to be public.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/kentucky-teen-faces-charge-naming-attackers-174237074.html

[Vidar]

1. American Justice: assault the victim.

[sarcasmo]

4. +1

[rocktivity]

2. The boys pleaded guilty...to first-degree sexual abuse

and misdemeanor voyeurism. Dietrich says she was unaware of a plea agreement until just before it was announced in court.

You mean this agreement was reached before either Dietrich, her parents, or her lawyer knew about it?


rocktivity

[SheilaT]

27. From what I gather, that kind of thing happens all the time.

Plea agreements are done between the court and the defendant, and the accuser has no say in the matter. Often the accuser's attorneys have little or no say in the matter, it seems.

[freshwest]

5. Just the lastest stomping of a woman from Rand Paul's fiefdom.

[boppers]

6. That's fucked up.

Go Savannah go!

[chervilant]

7. Those cretins

forfeited their right to anonymity when they assaulted this young woman.

[cstanleytech]

9. The law must say otherwise or she wouldnt be in trouble for tweeting the names. nt

[Iggo]

19. The law is an ass.

[cstanleytech]

30. Thats a matter of perspective, when we support the law its great but when

we dont we think its an "ass".

[Iggo]

35. My perspective is that of a person...

...who thinks that the victim of a sexual assault should not be required to protect her attackers. If you have a different point of view, please share.

[cstanleytech]

36. Oh I agree with your perspective but

I also know that not everyone shares that perspective.

[Iggo]

37. Yeah, I just get mad at this kind of shit.

Sorry I took it out on you.

[chervilant]

28. From the

"Boys will be Boys" School of Thought...

[cstanleytech]

31. Nope, I think they should have gotten hard time actually. nt

[chervilant]

32. Nope, I meant the LAW.

I realize I should have been clearer. The LAW reflects the 'boys will be boys' sensibility common in our patriarchal society.

[msanthrope]

8. Here's the judge's profile...

http://www.citizensforbetterjudges.org/endorsements/mcdonald.htm

[mbperrin]

12. Nice white woman gets a man's job as long as she obeys the

local lawyer association.

I'm not perfect, even close, but I do hate a sellout.

[msanthrope]

14. Now, wait a second....the judge hasn't even had a hearing on this matter. Let's be fair.

The only people asking for charges are the defense attorneys.....I mean, read the article.

The criminals have not been sentenced yet, either.

It's entirely possible justice might happen.

[Posteritatis]

16. Justice stopped happening the moment the judge imposed restrictions on the victim. (nt)

[msanthrope]

21. Nonsense. It is standard in a sex crime that involve juveniles

that the court record is sealed, and the persons involved are admonished not to talk about it.

In this particular sex crime, the victim was assaulted, and pictures of her attack were disseminated. The judge issued a blanket court order to stop all communications regarding the incident.

In this case, however, the victim wishes to have the record unsealed. I agree with her..this is her right, and the perpetrators, since they were not adjudicated delinquent, should be subject to the same public disclosure that other criminals must face.

So let's hope the judge does the right thing. And if she doesn't, then it's time to take it higher.

[mbperrin]

10. Finest good ole boy wink and a nod available.

Time for those "men" to take some responsibility for their actions - they had fun passing around the pictures - now let's see theirs.

Gag order for criminal identities is overly broad, anyway. Surely another judge will strike this.

Although (and I'm old) when I was growing up, someone's dad or uncles would have taken care of the little jerks long before it reached a courtroom.

Those rapists are pure scum.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Misleading headline

She faces charges for violating a court order.

I think this is fucked up. But she did violate a court order.

[sendero]

17. A court order..

... that goes against pretty much any reasonable idea of justice. On exactly what justification can these names remain sealed?

[A Simple Game]

13. If she was not on trial how can she be forced to do or not do something? n/t

[CanonRay]

15. I did not know that Kentucky had Sharia Law

as in punish rape victims. I thought victims had to agree with plea deals...

[Ilsa]

22. Yeah, the one instance in the US when Michelle Bachman is right! nt

[shcrane71]

18. What? The 17 year-old should have asked the judge to "vacate" the gag order?

It's 2012. Teens have access to social media. A 17 year-old is not going to understand how to maneuver through the court system, but she can tweet her attackers name. This judge is out-of-touch.

[derby378]

20. "So what are you in for?" "Getting raped by two boys." "FUCK."

[Orrex]

23. If she faces a fine, I'm sure that something could be arranged to assist her...

[L0oniX]

24. Might as well post those names everywhere if they are going to charge her with contempt.

[iamthebandfanman]

29. going to say the same thing..

we should wait for her charges to go through so nothing can be added and then plaster them everywhere lol..
unless her attackers were all underage too..

[may3rd]

25. wow, only in america

In some of our more friendly oil rich countries,
she would have been given the death penalty for being sexually assaulted.

[progressivebydesign]

26. Did I wake up in Saudi Arabia? Seems that you have the right to name someone that attacked you...

she's not the media.

[4th law of robotics]

33. Any legal experts care to weigh in on this?

What's the rationale here?

[Dr. Strange]

38. I am so not a legal expert.

But from what I gather, the rationale is that by releasing the names, Dietrich is violating the judge's gag order, and the defense attorney is trying to protect them by asking for the judge to hold her in contempt. Eugene Volokh is of the opinion that she probably won't be held in contempt, because she didn't report anything from the trial: the identity of the rapists was known to her before any legal proceedings began.

Now, the real irony here is that, by asking for this contempt charge, the defense attorney may be harming the rapists far more than Dietrich's twittering, thanks to the Streisand effect. I've read that the names are out there online, although I haven't searched hard for them. Another problem for the defense attorney: the rapists have accepted a plea agreement, but the judge hasn't ruled on it yet--she could reject it or modify it. If the defense attorney goes after Dietrich hard, then that could jeopardize the rapist, because I don't think any judge is going to give Dietrich a harsher punishment than her rapists.

[JustAnotherGen]

34. So

What are the names of the two rapists? Are they floating around the Internet anymore? If they are college bound - i would like my two nieces and several friends' daughters heading off to University next month to know who these two convicted sex offenders are.