It appears that the Uber Taxi driver discussed today is not the only person who is reportedly using the “she asked for it” defense to sexual assault. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office is blaming a former state prison clerk for her own rape in litigation against the prison. The 24-year-old typist was working at the state prison at Rockview in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania in 2013 when she was choked unconscious and raped for 27 minutes by Omar Best, an image convicted three times previously of sex-related crimes. Worse yet, Best had been transferred from a different state prison for assaulting a female assistant but the prison still allowed him unsupervised visits with female employees.
The lawsuit alleges that the clerk offices were actually moved from part of the prison that was off limits to inmates to a less secure location before the rape. There were allegedly no locked doors between the offices and the cell blocks.
Best was convicted of the rape in May, but a senior deputy attorney general wrote that the woman “acted in a manner which in whole or in part contributed to the events.”
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office insists that it was merely presenting all possible defenses including contributing negligence. However, there are a variety of defense that you can chose not to make. For example, they could claim that she raped the inmate but that was thankfully rejected.
Before this rape, Best had been convicted three times prior of sex-related offenses. He pleaded guilt to indecent assault in 1995. In 2010, he was tied to the abduction and rape of an 18-year-old woman in Philadelphia but only sentenced to 7 to 15 years. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to rape and robbery of another woman and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
He then reportedly assaulted another female employee at a prison in Graterfordand was transferred to the state prison at Rockview. Moreover, the victim allegedly complained twice to her boss — about a week before the attack — that she felt uncomfortable and unsafe with Best coming into her office. While she was told that Best would not be allowed to come to the office, he went to her office pretending to be taking out her trash. When she tried to blow a whistle as an alert, no one heard the sound and she was choked into unconsciousness. A later investigation led to the firing of the superintendent, Marirosa Lamas and the hiring of 70 new corrections officers. They also moved the offices.
However, the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (right) still maintained that she might be entirely responsible for her own rape. After the fallout, her office is saying that they might not pursue the claim at trial. That would be wise since the jury would likely to have to be restrained in its disgust and anger. The filing was made under Kane’s name and argued:
“Some or all of the damages plaintiff have alleged are in part, or substantially due, to the acts of third parties other than the answering defendants, and/or plaintiff acted in a manner which in whole or in part contributed to the events which led to the damages plaintiff has alleged in her complaint.”
Kane also denied such assertions that the woman did not want Best in her office despite strong evidence to that effect at the rape trial.
To often, prosecutors and government lawyers will adopt a scorched earth policy toward those accusing the government of misconduct. Such argument rarely make the news but they are being made, in this case, in the name of all Pennsylvania citizens. The detachment from not just reality but decency in this case truly shocked the conscience.
Source: KFOR
Rabe = Rape
Nick Spinelli said,
“I think being raped by the AG is worse for this victim, a REAL victim, a concept lost on some here.”
Precisely how you stir the pot, Nick.
“I think being raped by the AG is worse for this victim…”
How the hell would you know? But you are presumptuous sort.
Anonymous – Nick’s use of the word rape is correct in this context, it means taken by force. For example, the Rape of Nanking does not refer to the Japanese f**king the entire population but the taking by force of the city. BTW, the Japanese did f**k a large portion of the female population who were unable to keep hidden or escape. The Rabe of the Sabine Women refers to the capture by force of the women, not the taking of them sexually.
I misspoke on my earlier post therefore it was appropriately deleted by the webmaster. What I should have said is that this perpetrator is obviously a victim of our much prejudiced society and certainly he should be afforded only the best legal defense available, and surely the victim, excuse me, the participant was the primary contributing factor, and geez, this wouldn’t have happened if she were a he. Or would it have happened? hmmmm
Shaking’Robin, Tremendous courage sharing the trauma of being a rape victim. I worked w/ many rape victims when I worked for the prosecutors office in KC. Every rape victim has a place in my heart. God bless you.
I’m not clear on how someone “only” sentenced to 7-15 years for abduction and rape in 2010 is able to commit another crime OUTSIDE OF PRISON in 2011.
The simple solution is a quick execution. The evidence is all in. Call it mercy killing if you like. He might be back but not for 14 years & might not chose that life again.
Jason – how many times will it take before he’s deemed a danger to society who should be permanently locked away???
Karen – I am thinking it is going to take at least 3 more rapes before the state decides this inmate is a danger to female he is around.
SMH – so sorry for what you went through. Stay strong.
Paul – that’s disappointing that your friend’s husband wasn’t there for her, in her time of need.
Karen – well, it is kinda funny now, but my friend got chlamydia from the rape and passed on to her husband, so I suppose there is a little payback there. 😉 She later married a really nice guy.
It appears as if this AG is in a win-at-all-costs mentality. She’s either incredibly cynical or (as I read it from the posts giving us legal insight) she is incompetent. It is astounding that someone lacked the common sense to prevent this guy from any unsupervised contact with women. Agree with the earlier comment that he should never receive parole or ever be allowed in the presence of women without some form of restraint (in the case of consultation with legal advisors.)
As Janet Napolitano kept reminding us, the Attorney General of Arizona was an administrative office, not one where she would have to be using her law license.
As if the main issue in the story wasn’t enough, I just about ground my teeth away in anger when I hit this part: “He pleaded guilt to indecent assault in 1995. In 2010, he was tied to the abduction and rape of an 18-year-old woman in Philadelphia but only sentenced to 7 to 15 years. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to rape and robbery of another woman and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.”
For his *third* instance of sexually assaulting someone, he got 15 years. THIRD. I’m not in favor of three strikes laws, or any that tie judges’ hands. But it sure would be nice if our society valued women enough to put people like this guy away for life before his fourth offense.
Of course the rapist’s defense insisted that the sex was consensual at trial, so I guess this will be a case of the People of the State of Pennsylvania arguing “No she didn’t… But yes she did?”
We have such a dearth of humility in this country. Please tell me she’s not on the short-list for the next United States Attorney General.
“The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office is blaming a former state prison clerk for her own rape in litigation against the prison.”
The fear of losing money has perverted the mind of many a defender of the crown.
SMH,
It’s awesome that you deal with it such an open way. My sister was raped as a child but she was only able to speak about it 50 years after the fact. She said it was so liberating to finally share it with us.
No attorney worthy of the name relies on boilerplate without reviewing the entire document before filing it. To do so would open them up to malfeasance and/or malpractice if something unintended made it into a filing. And while boilerplate may be standard for contracts and interrogatories; in tort defense it would almost always be limited to form and not necessarily substance.
There can be very little doubt that the State intended contributory negligence to be a not insignificant part of their tort defense. Even a good legal assistant or secretary should have looked at this, walked it into their attorney and said “Really?”. Lastly, when working in the State’s Attorneys office you are not in a Sole Practice, that suit and its defense strategy would have been discussed in at least department level meetings. There is no way this was not a defense that accidentally made it into a pleading or that they did nor originally intend to pursue.
But perhaps Ms. Kane would like to spend some unsupervised time in these prisons, surely since she wouldn’t be “asking for it” she would be perfectly safe. One wonders if the State woukd be permitted to use this as a defense I’m a civil matter, how can it then deny the same defense to a criminal defendant?
Dangerous precedent I would think if it was allowed.
Thank god she was unconscious. I’d hate to live with the memory of that guy’s face.
A standards affirmative defense included in a document the parties generally don’t read before any discovery has taken place I would have included it as well, as you often discover information during discovery which was not available at the time the Complaint is answered. Some of the comments seem to suggest that it was unethical for the AG not to take the allegations in the Complaint as true. The suggestion that the AG’s gender did or should affect the contents of the responsive pleading is absurd.
@NickS
it’s not just government lawyers. Civilian lawyers also use word processors. It is rare that either a Complaint, or a Response, or a Motion, is just created from scratch. They even have form books where you can pick out what you need, paste it to your word processor, and fill in the blanks as needed, and modify it as needed.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
I wish there was something to call that button besides “like” to get more attention to the story.
issac you beat me to it i was going to say boy that ten pounds of makeup sure helped her get that position. for her sake i hope she never has to feel the emotional, mental and physical damage we victims of rape feel everyday for the rest of our lives no matter how good the therapy we receive to help us thru and yes im a victim of rape even though it was 24 yrs ago i still feel the effects
ShakingMyHead – sorry that you were raped. Had a friend who was raped and her husband never could deal with it, he divorced her. Although she dealt with it better, she did carry it with her.