I have previously discussed the pattern of prosecutors in either not charging false rape victims or seeking relatively light sentences despite the incarceration of innocent men. (here, here, here, here, here, and here). While I would never recommend a prison sentence for a rape victim who simply identified the wrong man by mistake, the most disturbing cases are those involving false rape claims. For an example of this problem, you need to go no further than the case of Elizabeth Paige Coast.
Coast, 26, accused Johnathan C. Montgomery, a former neighbor of raping her in 2000 when she was 10 years old and he was 14. She later admitted that she made up the story and lied on the witness stand at his June 23, 2008, trial.
Montgomery’s life was ruined and he spent four years in jail. Coast however was sentenced by Hampton Circuit Court Judge Bonnie L. Jones to just two months in jail and ordered to make $90,000 in restitution for perjury. Jones suspended the rest of the five-year sentence and even allowed Coast to serve the remainder on weekends so not to disrupt her life.
Coast blamed her crimes on her reading adult material on the Internet by her mother. When her strict religious mother caught her, the mother (Coast claims) suggested that she was viewing the material because she had been sexually assaulted. She said that the jumped at the excuse to get out of trouble. She said she gave her mother the name of Montgomery when pressed to identify the assailant. Her lawyer insisted that, because she came forward, any jailing would send the wrong message to others who lie about crimes.
Hopewell Commonwealth’s Attorney Richard K. Newman asked for a 10-year sentence with six years suspended so she would serve the same length of time as Montgomery.
I certainly agree that Coast should be credited with coming forward. However, she is now 26. That means that this man went to jail when she was 22. She was 17 when he made the allegations.
Sixty days on weekends sends a message of a different kind: that false rape victims are not subject to the same punishment afforded others who file false police reports, ruin lives, or commit perjury.
Perhaps the most infamous refusal to charge such a case involved Crystal Gale Mangum, 33, the stripper who falsely accused members of the Duke lacrosse team. She became a national celebrity as activists warned that anything but long criminal sentences would be proof of racism by the prosecutors. Durham D.A. Mike Nifong joined this lynch mob atmosphere despite the absence of forensic evidence to support the claim of rape. When he was removed and the lie was exposed however North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper refused to prosecute Mangum, who ruined the lives of these students and triggered racial tensions in the region. Cooper simply let her walk in a disgraceful but politically expedient decision.
Notably, there is no published review of the original case and the evidence against Montgomery. There appears only the evidence of the accuser in the case and it makes me wonder about the prosecutor’s role in the case.
Source: Times Dispatch
Dredd,
We know. WP goofed. Everything should be back to normal.
David 1, August 20, 2013 at 4:06 pm
“She raped him. The punishment should be equal to the crime.”
And then she’ll never recant. Do you people ever thing about such things?
===========================
I thing therefore I id.
HAS ANYONE ELSE received the message that this blog was shut down due to violations of the Terms of Service Agreement?
I tried to log on for quite a while and I got that message.
This was in the last hour.
“She raped him. The punishment should be equal to the crime.”
And then she’ll never recant. Do you people ever thing about such things?
I don’t like the idea of punishing recanters because that gives them a disincentive to recant in the first place.
Test.
From the article:
“Just prior to sentencing Coast, Jones asked, “What do I do? Is it an eye for an eye, or is there room for compassion?”
*******************
There is my dear judge and it should have gone toward the real victim not the kid –now an adult — who told the lie.
She raped him. The punishment should be equal to the crime.
“Perhaps the most infamous refusal to charge such a case involved Crystal Gale Mangum, 33, the stripper who falsely accused members of the Duke lacrosse team.”
Another case of false accusation involved rightwingnut Rachel Marsden who falsely accused two different men of sexual harassment…two men that she was stalking and harassing. No wonder Fox Nuisance hired her.
One of her victims was the swimming coach at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, who was fired because of her accusations, and she was awarded $12,000. On appeal, the coach was proven innocent and SFU ended up paying him as well, but unable to recoup the money from Marsden. She never faced charges for her accusations nor for her harassment and stalking of others.
The worst thing about stories like these are that they become fodder for the pro-rape, woman-hating “men’s rights advocates”. Cases of false accusation are rare compared to rapes and assaults reported and unreported (1 in 100? 1 in 1000?). But to the clowns in the anti-woman brigade, it’s only the false cases that matter.
Women like Coast end up making it harder for victims of sexual assault and harassment to come forward and be believed. Nafissatou Diallo and others get accused of being “gold diggers” or having other ulterior motives instead of having their cases taken seriously (i.e. Strauss-Kahn insinuated Diallo was a prostitute). Rather than making everything public and silence discussion with evidence, the Shermers of this world file “cease and desist” paper to silence discussion by force.
raff, I agree that her time should not be equal, I think 150% would be just.
Thank you raff….
The eternal mind-set of prosecutors, police and the courts is “guilty, guilty of something, at sometime, somewhere even if proven otherwise”. The message sent is “everyone is guilty, even if its not the crime they’re charged for, someone has to pay, someone has to go to jail, no exceptions.”
AY,
I think wordpress is hungry this morning.
I agree that this lady should have received a more significant sentence, but I am not sure it has to be an equal time to what the alleged rapist served.
That is really not fair compensation. As bad as our culture views rape, you think the courts would be more upset about a false accuse of rape.
Surprised you haven’t written about Wanetta Gibson. Her lie sent an innocent man to prison for 5 years, ruined his promising football career, AND she received a 1.5 million settlement against the school where she claimed the rape happened.
She received NO JAIL TIME, and only after public outcry was any monetary compensation sought. They are going to garnish her wages? Reportedly she has been living on public assistance (where did all that money go?) Sounds like for a person like her, that is simply an incentive not to work.
Amazingly all the articles I have read treat the $2.6 million judgement as a victory, as if she is actually going to pay it. I would love a follow up article from you that includes an assessment of how this monetary fine will play out, or if she in fact received any real punishment for her crime. How much time would a person get if they kept someone imprisoned in their basement for 5 years? She kept an innocent man locked up – and at taxpayer expense.
Thank you whom ever… But all are caught this morning… Every single one…
Is there an issue with WP today hanging onto comments?
Nick,
You might be onto something…..
This is a perfect example of why we need Federal legislation to compensate victims of wrongful imprisonment and prosecution, and classify both as crimes against rights under cover of law.
Notice that I did NOT say “wrongful conviction” since many people are sent to prison through coerced plea bargains. I included wrongful prosecution since, even if successful, the cost of defending oneself against a bogus charge can lead to the financial ruin of an innocent person.
Finally, I want this to be FEDERAL legislation since State standards for compensation are all over the map, with, VERY ironically, Texas among the best and Wisconsin among the worst. Meaningful compensation should not be left up to the whims of cheap states.
“Men are pigs and deserve to be in prison for offenses committed by other men over the millennium. Women are victims and are absolved of all sins involving sex crimes,” This is the unwritten rule that permeates our current culture.