Rehtaeh Parsons Update: "Anonymous" Says Teen's Alleged Rapists "Will Be Held Accountable"

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Fri Apr 12, 2013, 04:54 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: CBS News

Rehtaeh Parsons Update: "Anonymous" says teen's alleged rapists "will be held accountable"

April 11, 2013

Facebook (CBS) - The internet activist group Anonymous is vowing to bring "justice" to the case of Rehtaeh Parsons, a Canada teen who hanged herself after reportedly never emotionally recovering from an alleged rape by four teenage boys, according to a statement released by the group.

The statement says Anonymous has confirmed the identities of two of the four alleged rapists and they are currently working on identifying the others.

The group is asking the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nova Scotia, where the alleged crime took place, to take "immediate legal action against the individuals in question."

"We encourage you to act fast. If we were able to locate these boys within 2 hours, it will not be long before someone else finds them," the statement reads.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57579103-504083/rehtaeh-parsons-update-anonymous-says-teens-alleged-rapists-will-be-held-accountable

[MADem]

1. Vigilante justice? Not helpful.

What kind of name is "Rehtaeh?" Does anyone know? What leapt out at me is that, scrambled, it spells "Hate her." Backwards, it spells "Heat her."

Poor child. Horrible enough that she killed herself, worse still that her name is being used to endorse abrogation of rule of law.


Apparently, the anger comes from the fact that no one was charged, initially, with a crime. However, according to this link from yesterday, the case has been re-opened:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/rehtaeh-parsons-suicide-justice-minister-revisiting-alleged-rape/story?id=18924592#.UWcUyZOG2So

Cpl. Scott MacRae, spokesman for Halifax Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told ABCNews.com that the investigation into the alleged rape started in November 2011 and lasted almost a year.

"At the end of the completed of investigation, police, along with the crown attorney, concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed with charges," he said.

MacRae said that during the course of the investigation, the photograph in question was analyzed to see if it met the criteria for child porn, or showed signs of any criminal nature. MacRae emphasized that the alleged photo of Rehtaeh being raped is only one piece of a potential case against the alleged rapists. He said that he is unable to confirm any of the details of Parsons' account of the alleged rape.

MacRae said that police are aware of Minister Landry's comments about reviewing details of the case, and said that any time police activity is called into question his department will look into it.

[Melinda]

3. Spelled backwards, the name becomes "Heather".

I've known children named Navaeh which is "Heaven" spelled backwards. Must be a generational/cultural thing. Hope this is some kind of answer, anyway.

[MADem]

4. AH! Thank you! I didn't put the "th" together!!!

I feel much better knowing that (not that it will bring the poor girl back) ... I have to say, I was wondering if the family life was a bit "off," and the name was a reflection of mixed feelings or something!!

Amazing, the suppositions that can ensue with a first impression...!

Thanks again for straightening me out.

I guess that backward name thing is generational--the only people I know with backward names are old farts named Bob!

[Melinda]

6. lol@Bob - me too. And, yqw. :-) n/t

[yurbud]

11. it sounds like she had more serious problems than a goofy name

[Lucinda]

16. Sounds like an alt spelling for "Rita" to me n/t

[MADem]

22. See upthread--Melinda put me right. nt

[Melinda]

2. Normally, I am against taking the law (investigating) into one's own hands....

however as a sexual assault survivor several times over who never received much in the way of assistance from law enforcement (stone age 60's and 70's), coupled with what occurred to this child; I think I'll stand with Anonymous on this one.

K&R, although I hope Anon is judicious and careful and practices due diligence if and when they publicly identify the monsters responsible for this child's suffering and subsequent death. Vigilante justice isn't needed here, but outting those responsible isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just isn't, at least not in this case.

[Kber]

14. Anon has promised not to reveal names as long as progress is made

They also posted that other groups may not be as patient and urged speed.

[maindawg]

5. I bsolutely stand with annonomous

These boys cannot be permitted to slink off. They will be identified publicly. They are monsters. Had I ever been involved in something like that , I would not be afraid of the police. I would be very afraid of my dad because he would have done some damage and worse than that, he would never respect me again. Those boys will have to live with what they did. That is going to be hard.

[alp227]

7. Regular site link for desktops (automatically converts to mobile mode on mobiles)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57579103-504083/rehtaeh-parsons-update-anonymous-says-teens-alleged-rapists-will-be-held-accountable/

[Fearless]

8. There is a very big difference

Between shining a light on ignorance or corruption. It is an ENTIRELY different thing to start threatening violence.

Bad form.

[Posteritatis]

9. At least the justice minister's been pressured to back off on that "no investigation" bullshit. (nt)

[MAD Dave]

10. Anonymous - Burn their asses down

"Rehtaeh Parsons thought the worst outcome for her case would be no charges against the men who raped her but we all know better. The worst thing that could happen would be charges. That they would be found guilty, and that Rehtaeh would sit on a court bench and listen in utter disbelief as they were given parole, or a suspended sentence, or community service. All for completely destroying her life while they laughed."

From: http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/blog/2013/04/rehtaeh-parsons-was-my-daughter.html

I think that Anonymous is on the right track. These four "clowns" need to be taken down. This sort if crazy shitty bullying has been going on for faaaaaar to long. They knew that they could get away with it and they almost did.

I saw similar things done in Saskatchewan in the '90s. No one gave a shit. The teachers, the administration, the town officials, the justice system. It was very similar to Steubenville. If you played football or hockey you could do anything. People turned the other cheek. I personally watched a friend be sexually harassed for so long that she moved to another school. Multiple incidents of inappropriate touching, verbal harassment and physical violence. I was bullied as well and could barely take care of myself let alone do anything to help my friend. She felt betrayed by all of us and I understand why.

It is about time that we as humans take a stand on this rape/bullying culture. Perpetrators SHOULD NOT be venerated. They should be PUNISHED for their behaviours. Additionally, every person within the power structure (teacher, principle, administrator, mayor, counsellor, or legal official) that overlooks these crimes should be charged with sexual assault not conspiracy or aiding/abetting but full on rape. Their behaviour permitted these crimes to happen - period.

EOM

[radicalliberal]

18. Thank you very much for speaking out.

This is one of the reasons why I will never become a sports fan:

I saw similar things done in Saskatchewan in the '90s. No one gave a shit. The teachers, the administration, the town officials, the justice system. It was very similar to Steubenville. If you played football or hockey you could do anything. People turned the other cheek. I personally watched a friend be sexually harassed for so long that she moved to another school. Multiple incidents of inappropriate touching, verbal harassment and physical violence. I was bullied as well and could barely take care of myself let alone do anything to help my friend. She felt betrayed by all of us and I understand why.

It is about time that we as humans take a stand on this rape/bullying culture. Perpetrators SHOULD NOT be venerated. They should be PUNISHED for their behaviours. Additionally, every person within the power structure (teacher, principle, administrator, mayor, counsellor, or legal official) that overlooks these crimes should be charged with sexual assault not conspiracy or aiding/abetting but full on rape. Their behaviour permitted these crimes to happen - period.

I've read many other similar comments at other websites. How ironic that the real sports haters are to be found among the fans and the boosters; namely, those among them who are the bully enablers and the rape enablers. I would think that many sports fans would insist that athletes be held accountable for the way they treat others when they're not playing the game. (In other words, athletes should be treated as human beings and be subjected to the the same rules as everyone else.) But this doesn't seem to be the case. Such is "jock privilege."

[MAD Dave]

19. + 1000

I was a coward at the time. I wish I could have helped my friend more.....,,

[radicalliberal]

24. I know this is off-topic, but thank you for the compliment.

Please don't be too hard on yourself about high school. We all have regrets. Including yours truly. It comes with being human. You were just a kid who was trying to survive. I wasn't particularly courageous myself in high school. I went out of my way to avoid being noticed by the bullies. I was just waiting for it to come to an end.

I suspect there were individual athletes at your high school who did not approve of the way some of their teammates were mistreating others, but lacked the moral courage to speak out. They would be the real cowards, not you.

[defacto7]

12. K&R

need I say more.

[Kber]

13. Been in Canada on business and following this story

Glad to see it here too.

Edit: as of this morning they claim to know all 4. Posted that it took about 4 hours to find them since the evidence was readily available.

[Ash_F]

17. Law enforcement said the usual "not enough evidence" BS

Kind of seems that, in this case, there was plenty of evidence. Maybe the next time they are worried about not having enough evidence, they should just try a trial and see what happens?

For her family to receive full justice, not only should the young men be tried and imprisoned, but also the civil servants who went derelict of their duty.

Good on Anonymous for bringing the international attention to this.

[MAD Dave]

20. Not enough evidence is suspect if digital images are involved

Every smart phone embeds the date, time, phone number, and GPS coordinates within the image. Pretty hard to erase the data too. Takes skills I don't have.

[Ash_F]

21. Good point

I think this just comes down to plain old not caring about their obligations.

...and perhaps some desire to protect the perpetrators. People should not accept this from their law enforcement. Get rid of the old guys, bring in the new. It doesn't matter what country.

[polly7]

23. A petition for anyone who wishes to sign ...

Last edited Tue Apr 16, 2013, 04:53 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/698/574/655/rcmp-get-tough-with-rape-cases/?z00m=20534871

This is the third or fourth I've signed in the last little while, hopefully they'll help to make a difference as well.

From an email to me:

We did it. Thank you to all 424,770 people who helped win this important measure of justice for Rehtaeh by signing my Change.org petition and demanding to know why the rape of a 15 year old girl wasn't taken seriously by authorities.

Nothing will ever erase the fact that Rehtaeh was raped when she was 15, photographed, bullied, shamed and left to feel abandoned by the authorities she thought would protect her. Nothing can ever bring her back, but together, by holding authorities accountable, we are changing the culture and system that failed her.

As a friend of Rehtaeh's mother, I was shaking with anger when I heard the Nova Scotia Minister of Justice say that he would not review police actions in Rehtaeh's rape case -- no one had been charged even though hundreds had seen photos of the rape.

I'm relieved to tell you that yesterday I received a call from the Premier of Nova Scotia's office confirming that there will be an independent inquiry into the actions of police and the public prosecution in Rehtaeh's case. This is because of the pressure 424,770 signers helped create.

Something is going to change because of this -- for Rehtaeh, for her family and friends who will live with this tragedy forever, and for the countless girls and women around the world who are victims of both sexual assault and a culture that tells them that it's their fault.

Please click here to share this image on Facebook or forward this email to your friends and family so everyone can know that Rehtaeh will have justice.

https://www.facebook.com/Change.orgCanada?brand_redir=1

[smirkymonkey]

25. I am all for Anonymous in these types of cases.

Too often these victims don't get any justice at all through typical law enforcement and legal channels. They need a group like Anonymous on their side.