Breana Harmon Talbott, 19, is facing criminal charges after creating panic in Denison, Texas over her claim that she was kidnapped and gang raped by three black men. She has reportedly admitted to an elaborate hoax, including a staged crime scene and self-inflicted injuries.
After having an argument with her then-fiance over his enlistment in the Army (and their possible move from the area), Breana Talbott was reported missing on March 8, 2017. Samuel Hollingsworth told police Talbott’s vehicle was in the parking lot of the apartment complex “with the vehicle door open, her phone, keys and a shoe nearby.” A huge search was launched. Later that night, Talbott walked into a nearby church covered in blood “wearing only a shirt, bra and underwear. She told witnesses at the church she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted in the woods behind the church. There were also visible cuts and/or scratches on her body.”
She claims that the men in the SUV not only gang raped her but cut her from head to toe, a allegation than reported on social media by her mother:
The large law enforcement response however led to a great number of questions over her account. They were not able to corroborate a single detail of the attack. She later confessed.
Talbott, a recent graduate of Denison High School and a Denison native, works as a patient care technician at Carrus Speciality and Rehabilitation Hospitals, according to her Facebook page.
Despite the high costs to the police and the community, Talbott was charged only with making a false report to a peace officer, a class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
What do you believe that proper punishment should be?
I once saw a terrific musical called “The Scottsboro Boys,” written by David Thompson, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, that deals with this very theme from the perspective of the accused. http://porchlightmusictheatre.org/the-scottsboro-boys/
Those interested in law and justice in the U.S. should be aware of the real case this musical was based on. Here’s a photo of the real Scottsboro boys with their attorney:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys#/media/File:Leibowitz,_Samuel_%26_Scottsboro_Boys_1932.jpg
The same punishment a man would have got
Meanwhile in Italy, a man was acquitted of rape because the victim only said “enough!” and didn’t scream: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-acquitted-of-rape-because-woman-didnt-scream/
Andrea, do you think a 3 minute news report by people who do not speak Italian on the subject of famously rococo Italian legal proceedings might just leave out a salient detail or two?
What the woman probably said was “basta”. The term can also mean stop depending on the context. I wonder how many times she said, “enough”, once, twice, more? What if that is all she said for an act that lasted 7 minutes, the average time necessary to achieve climax. “Basta” can be spoken in about one second. There are 420 seconds in a minute. What sort of sounds did she make for the remaining 419 if any? Perhaps she recalled at a later date having said “basta (enough)” at a moment when she was regretting the encounter. Then she told a friend. Then she was stuck looking stupid or possibly, raped. There is certainly no way to tell from the article. It is simply too short and leaves many natural questions unanswered.
I think the statutory law is too lenient w/ regard to this sort of thing. The penalties should be scaled to the severity of the crime alleged and laden with enhancements if specific persons are accused.
I agree 100%.
She should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I agree with Nick that some community service time at a rape crisis center (or even a women’s shelter) would do some good for this woman. I think more severe punishments would be warranted, as well, but then again, there might be constitutional issues with regards to cruel and unusual punishment.
This woman hurts everybody, especially the real victims of sexual assault.
If she really is a psychopath, do you want her working with victims groups? Almost sounds like enabling.?
No. Clap her in jail or assess corporal punishments. Community service and probation are humbug and a confusion of punishment and social work.
Give her maximum jail time, plus community service and psychological counseling. She should share the financial cost of her search as well.
‘Psychological counseling’? Whatever for? She committed a crime. She needs punishment, not cloying tripe from the mental health trade.
Make her live in Denison Texas.
Oh, wait…
Until all persons making such false claims (irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation) start being prosecuted and punished, these crimes will continue and escalate in number. All such false reports need to be taken seriously, prosecuted, and punished according to the law.
Heinous Lying.
The girl is obviously somewhat deranged. There’s a lot of that going on these days. The tantrum she pulled harmed society at various levels. She unlawfully engaged the police in a crime that did not happen. She damaged the credibility of people who are raped. This goes into the back of the brain of some judges and jurors and will be front and center in the brain of lawyers defending alleged rapists. She added fuel to the sick fires smoldering in the damaged souls of racists and white supremacists.
This is, to some degree, a hate crime. It is no different than if she had illustrated her fantasy rapists as Muslim. One wonders if she had trouble deciding which people to target, which would get her the most attention. The law exists primarily to prevent crimes by illustrating the costs of harming society. This is a most heinous crime that demands the maximum punishment accompanied by careful psychological monitoring. In another place in this fair country, some Blacks might have been lynched. This is not a ‘snowflake’ or other perversely labeled perspective but a socially evolved or progressive perspective. Or we could all just let the hate smolder.
issac – is it a hate crime or just which description get me the most sympathy?
Hate crimes do not have to be motivated by hate. This wouldn’t have qualified anyway because no specific individual was named.
Paul and Rex
Since you brought up the ‘hate crime’ connection, however vaguely; the bimbo targeted Blacks specifically, for sympathy or other reasons. She utilized an existing condition which involves everything from religious arguments to mindless hatred. Her targeting of Blacks places her crime in an overlapping condition with hate crimes. Or, she is so stupid that she had no idea that she was adding fuel to an existing fire. Either way the law as an instrument primarily there to prevent crimes, must make as strong a statement as possible. She included racism/hate in her crime. There are enough potential crimes that might be deterred by setting an example here. To my mind the protective aspects of the law would be all but unnecessary if there were no crimes committed. Therefore to protect Blacks and/or college football players against this sort of mindless accusation, she should be made an example of in the strongest way.
issac – it is very racist to just assume that all football players are black.
I didn’t assume anything; nor did what I wrote remotely suggest that all football players are black. Therefore, the racist must be…the guy with the yuge IQ.
Lol Paul Schulte is a racist. You have no worries if that’s the guy labeling you racist.
He still calls Native Americans savages… and JT promotes his followers as being civil…. haha good one.
Chip Kelly – an ad hominem attack is not going to help you, except to prove your trollness.
This site is full of ad hominem attacks.
You think I want to prove anything else to this blog of (mostly, especially host) hacks?
Notice, this comment was not an ad hominem attack… It was simple – the truth.
What are the socio-legal consequences of the DOJ sending out “extra DOJ bloating dollars” to get state and local police forces to manufacture any rape statistics they are told to “Cook up”??
Just 50 years ago, the KKK would have lynched 3 black men without a trial!! Has society and our legal system really progressed beyond “Lynching upon accusation”???
And where exactly did this happen in 1967?
The last bloc lynching in the United States occurred in Georgia in 1946. The Ku Klux Klan hardly existed anywhere in 1946 and the investigation into the matter did not turn up evidence that any perps were klan-affiliated.
There was no ‘the KKK’ in 1967. You had stand-alone local klaverns, you had federations of klaverns at the state level, and you had about 3 multi state federations. Over the period running from 1954 to 1981, the lot of them together killed 16 people. None of the 16 were accused of crimes. Most of these homicides were political killings.
About half the members were either undercover police or police informants,
The conventional figure cited is 10% re the period since 1975. The klavern responsible for murdering 3 members of the Congress of Racial Equality in Philadelphia, Miss. had, after a time, two informants out of a couple dozen members, IIRC.
Belated qualified apologies for my hyperbole. Although 10% might be the figure offered by the police & FBI they tend to downplay their level of infiltration. Half might be closer to the truth than 10%.
Rex Frost – there has been some speculation that the only reason the klan survived was the dues paid by the FBI.
The maximum jail time for false reporting and then tack on 1000 community service working with BLM.
Sure as long as all the Fake Hate Crime Hoaxers who blame White People are forced to serve 1000 community hours with Conservative groups that they try to damage
Ill see your few fake crimes and raise you 300
http://www.fakehatecrimes.org/
Anonemouse – I just thought she could learn something from the pros. 🙂
There was an interesting story in the press last night. It turns out that all the recent threats against Jewish organizations were traced to a Jewish Israeli. It is not known what his motive was. He used a sophisticated method of software and computer networks to disguise the source of the threats, but the FBI working with the Israeli intelligence services were nonetheless able to trace the electronic trail to the source. This is just one more instance in a long, long history of fake “hate crimes” that has certainly turned me into a sceptic whenever I hear of these allegations.
How about a 5 year ban from social media and 100 hours of community service directed by the local NAACP office.
Shocking !! 😞😞
Barry Scheck has shown how a very high percentage of rape convictions are actually wrongful convictions, which are a consequence of cold-blooded, heartless psychopaths like this woman who has absolutely zero regard for anyone but herself. Her profession belies her behavior. But then again, maybe not, if she mistreats patients who are too troublesome. Her fiancé probably enlisted in the military to get away from her. Punish her to the fullest extent of the law, as deterrent to the women who do these horrible accusations. For every woman who is prosecuted for false accusation, a thousand others go free, while countless men serve sentences for wrongful conviction.
Scheck hasn’t shown that. Scheck’s a defense attorney. Not the most impartial student of these matters. That aside, only a modest minority of cases go to trial. They’re resolved with negotiated pleas. Sex offenses may be the most likely to be fabricated for a menu of reasons. Doesn’t mean the share is ‘very high’.
I thought Nick nailed it, but cooler heads prevail w/Darren, whose penalty seems more sensible.
Earth to men: avoid serious relationship w/gals named “Breana.”
I suspect this is the sole conviction on her record. If so I would recommend 1/2 of the determinate statutory maximum sentence in jail and fine. Plus, a mandate for psychological counseling might be worthwhile.
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem any real person was implicated or investigated as a suspect. Had this been the case a stronger sentence is warranted.
Mr Smith
I strongly disagree with your giving her a slap on the wrist because It is her 1st offence.
As a Black man in America (Texas) We have SERIOUS media image problems. The vast majority of us are not criminal, immoral, uneducated, picked on victims. This is how we are portrayed by our “leaders”. Name one time Obama did not describe us like that. So when this White lady loudly says 3 Black men Raped her . . . That image is reinforced and all of us are unfairly seen with suspicion and distrust. Next there is NO indication of remorse on her part for her crime./ Give her the max sentence allowed or have her do interviews with Black men Falsely accused of rape. interview and report on the impact of those charges on their lives. Please note I said Accused, not convicted. The charge alone destroys the man. On near all job applications it ask, have you ever been Arrested, if so for what. then publish these interviews on facebook and tell everyone what she did.
I understand where you are coming from on your various facts and I agree with them in general, but in this case I did not see evidence that a specific person was falsely labeled as being a suspect so it would be difficult to prove any sort of hate crime since there was not a specific person or persons named.
I am not intimately familiar with that state’s common law and criminal procedure but I doubt there is a hate crime sentencing enhancer for a false reporting crime. Those usually involve assaults, vandalism, and such.
Even if the state allowed for a sentencing enhancement it would be difficult to prove since the suspect (this girl) could simply articulate she used “3 black men” as a form of identification, as she would do for these being males or in their twenties, She would have to have provided evidence that she intended to do harm to these three specifically on account of their race. But as I mentioned before, it is moot if no specific individual was identified or falsely accused.
I agree it might not be fair in the totality of the circumstances, but far as criminal procedure goes there are limits to what can be done in sentencing.
Mr Smith
You are correct, there is no evidence that a specific person was falsely labeled as being a suspect. I disagree with all “Hate crime” laws and am sorry if my reply sent you in that direction. They seem to be designed to give one extra jail time based on what the perpetrators attitude toward the victim was at the time of the crime. and they are rarely if ever used against non Whites; but that is something for another post. You said ” there are limits to what can be done in sentencing ” I agree All laws are to protect individuals and society as a whole from damage. Her and her mothers VERY public announcements to the media and on face book that three Black men did this, arguably did societal harm. I am not suggesting she get more penalty than the law allows. Perhaps her photo in the news and a felony conviction is enough to deter her from future foolishness. Still I have one scenario for you to comment on. A woman cries Rape / They give a description of the perps to the police / the police bring in and question five people who fit her description. The interviews and reports are on file. none of these five are guilty. time passes and one of these men applies for a job requiring a background / security check. Question Is there a paper trail linking them to a rape case ? what are the odds that simply being questioned (suspect) in this case means you will be denied the job ? Note color played no part in my scenario
Simply being questioned or brought in for a line-up wouldn’t have any impact on a person’s future job prospects because there wouldn’t be any record of it. All arrests and convictions are entered into a law enforcement database, but not mere questioning. In CA, a job applicant cannot be asked about arrests, only convictions. If Texas allows employers to ask about arrests, that is something that the state legislature should address. Perhaps a civil rights group could propose legislation forbidding the practice. But then there is the separate issue of small towns, where everybody knows everything about their neighbors….lol. But in the case of this false accuser, I don’t see that anyone was harmed because the system worked as it should: the medical personnel told the police that there was no evidence of rape; the police then doubled down on their questioning and confronted her with inconsistencies in her story; and she ultimately broke down and confessed to the lie. So now she is the one who will forever be tarred as a liar, for all future employers to see, thanks to the internet and her eventual conviction.
This post says she is 19; N.Y. papers report that she is 18. Either way, she is still a teen but nonetheless old enough to be held accountable for her actions. I would sentence her to 1,000 hours working for a rape crisis center so that she learns what real victims go through and the harm caused by false reports. And of course she should pay all investigative and court costs, as well as mandatory psych counseling.
Treat her the same way the Muslim woman was treated several months ago when she lied to police about being attacked by several white men. Punish her the same way Tawana Brawley and Rev Al Sharpton were punished when they fabricated the story about her abduction and attack. I’m sure you all remember that case which occurred upstate NY several years ago.
Equal treatment for everyone be completely color blind.
Tawana’s story is true but when your attackers include a police officer and the son of the head of the state police, and your Black while they are white, you have no chance of being believed.
Tawana’s story was demonstrably false and only two members of a 23 member grand jury gave it much credence. (The black members of the grand jury split 50-50, one voting no true bill and the other taking the view that ‘something happened’, but he wasn’t sure what). Neither did the Attorney-General of New York , Robert Abrams, who was acting as special prosecutor in the case, think anything happened other than a young woman fabricating a story to avoid a beating from her mother’s bf. Another crew of skeptics would be the jury who awarded a slander judgment to Steven Pagones, the local prosecutor who was among several run down by TB and the three grifters (Alton Mattox, Vernon Mason, and Al Sharpton) who were trying to make hay out of the case. We have it on passably reliable authority (one of Sharpton’s former aides, who has worked as a PI) that Sharpton (behind closed doors) thought Brawley full of it. The whole tale was incredible, which is why it’s believed only by mentally-disabled people and frothing-at-the-mouth sectaries.
when your attackers include a police officer and the son of the head of the state police,
The superintendent of the state police was Thomas Constantine. He had two sons, neither of whom were ever accused by the Brawley clown car denizens, much less anyone reputable. Congratulations, bettykath, for sinking to a level even they did not.
Sharpton didn’t fabricate the story and (we learned at the time) didn’t actually believe it. He and two odious local attorneys were retained by her family as her ‘advocates’. (They volunteered for the task, to be sure). Sharpton was not particularly prominent at the time. The attorneys in question were well known to the courthouse press as race-hustlers. It was Brawley and then her family driving matters.
Al Sharpton never filed an official report about Tawana Brawley’s allegations or made any statement under penalty of perjury. I don’t think Tawana Brawley did either & even if she did she was 15 years old at the time so it’s a very different situation.
I think the Muslim woman was indicted for her false report but the case has yet been adjudicated.
No, he, Mattox, and Mason made public statements which made them liable for civil defamation.
6 months in jail and then mandated service in a rape crisis center, helping women who have been raped.
If the punishment is too severe she’ll re-recant her story & claim it really did happen & the police coerced the original recantation. The defense might work; it’s hard to prove a negative. And some people will believe her. Some people, like bettykath below, still the Tawana Brawley told the truth. Some people think that if something contains allegorical truth it’s true even if it never happened. Some people think anything bad about black people contains allegorical truth.
I suspect bettykath would be spotted right away in voir dire and struck off.
Sometimes they’re tricky.
If you claim you’re gang raped and no biological material is left behind, it’s a reasonable wager you’re full of it.