Nope. I think girls with tongue rings, tattoos and fondness for booze and pot have every right to express themselves anyway they like and that their appearance should have no bearing on the facts of the case. I also think the news media should portray the girl as she so desperately wanted to be seen.

Using out of date photos helps no one and only encourages "she had it coming" attitudes when more recent photos emerge.

Why was no one arrested?

doglover: Teenage girls are the least compassionate creatures on the planet. Even honey badger steers clear. Teenage boys are right behind them. I think it's some kind of mixture of ignorance and hormones.

Given the choice between being a teenager again and being a prey species in the actual wilderness, I would like to be a bunny, please.

At least when you're a grownup who works with teenagers, you have that once-in-a-lifetime, worth-your-job chance to slap one who's being a complete twat every now and then. I never have taken a little sumbiatch up on it, but I've been reliably informed that every teacher gets one good smack, like dogs and biting. That, and being the IT consultant for a school, it's often fascinating to watch as the bullies' senior projects are the ones that get tragically wiped in a hard-drive crash, whereas the nice, non-bully or victim kids who remind one of oneself did regular backups on different machines and only lost a paragraph or two, if anything.

Hard drive crash. Yeah. Funny how those happen.

That, and being the IT consultant, I have the moral obligation to report anyone who uploads or shares sexual pictures of a minor as a purveyor or creator of child pornography. Somebody does what happened to the little girl in TFA or has anything to do with the aftermath in my district, and they'll be on the Megan's Law shiat-list until they die unless their parents can cough up for an excruciatingly good lawyer. Informing a roomful of smug 'but our sons would never' PTA mommies and football dads that 'yes, that is the policy and no, I do not care about your son's football scholarship or your daughter's grades, if your kid shares explicit pictures of another kid and I find anything on the school's network, my first call is to the cops, plus the principal will only even hear about it after your kid's already in cuffs and halfway to the precinct,' the week after the Steubenville verdict was pretty enjoyable. They just looked so shocked and appalled that their 'won't somebody think of the children' applied to their kids as well and failure to parent them effectively, stomp out bullying at the roots or monitor their Internet usage could lead to serious consequences. (And yes, the 'you find it, you call the police and THEN notify the administration' part of the policy is in place because of Steubenville. There will BE no cover-ups on our superintendent's watch. She's the best boss ever.)

The bit where the superintendent pointed out that this was the child protection law said parents overwhelmingly voted for in action was especially choice. It was also precious to see how many high-school kids had stickers over the lenses of their camera phones the next day.

doglover:
Back in the day, the initial RCMP investigation would have been 4 homicides of teenage boys and no one would have seen anything grill the girl until she admitted she had sex once or twice before and write the whole thing off as a false accusation by a slutty little tramp.

Let's be honest, cops have been blowing off legitimate rape cases for a long time.

Only solution is to have internet control, finger printing and background check before every post. Oh, and a fee on every post as well

/if i was this parent, i would be hunting wabbits
//and wtf didnt her parents move her out of that school?

BarkingUnicorn: "The family said they were told the photographs were not a criminal issue even though Rehtaeh was underage."

I guess Canadian law needs to be changed.

So that every fifteen year old who sexts her boyfriend can be charged with child porn offences and put on the register for life?

kimmygibblershomework:If it was a teacher, farkers would be bro fisting.  Let's hope they think of this the next time one of those threads comes up.

Had it been a teacher, the utmost care would have been taken to keep it private.

Vigilanteism arises when people do not see justice being meted out via the usual legal methods. It may be true that there was not enough evidence in this case for a conviction. However, a sense of fairness is a strong human trait. So when people who appear to have committed an awful, harmful crime, appear to be just getting away without even a slap on the wrist, it is quite natural for the baying for blood to occur amongst the general population. Maybe Law Enforcement needs to look a bit harder at cases rather than put things in the 'too hard' basket, say 'tough shiat' to the victim and head out for lunch. If they don't, eventually average citizens might be pissed off enough to bring about what they see as justice their own way.

One can hope anyway.

Joe Blowme: Only solution is to have internet control, finger printing and background check before every post. Oh, and a fee on every post as well

/if i was this parent, i would be hunting wabbits
//and wtf didnt her parents move her out of that school?

They did. The thing with the internet is, it's everywhere. The rape, the bullying, the slut shaming all followed her.

SpiderQueenDemon: That, and being the IT consultant, I have the moral obligation to report anyone who uploads or shares sexual pictures of a minor as a purveyor or creator of child pornography.

What benefits do you see in legal action against 15 year old girls who send naked pictures of themselves to their boyfriends?

Nidiot: If they don't, eventually average citizens might be pissed off enough to bring about what they see as justice their own way.

Ironically, of course, that is exactly what happened in this case. Don't assume that average citizens will always be on your side.

Popcorn Johnny: There was one photo of her having sex with one boy. Parents claim she was raped, the evidence said otherwise.

Link

Doesn't make it right.  Matter of fact, not much in this whole thing is right.
No "stand up" people there.  Not one.

Once again, I am disturbed by what the world has become.  Normally I'm against bullying of any type, but part of me hopes that Anon cyber bullies the crap out of the bullies.  Just desserts and all.

Pics?

BarkingUnicorn: Publishing or sharing sexually explicit images or video of a person who has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including a reasonable expectation that you will not publish or share what he/she has shared with you, should definitely be a crime.

I could even argue it deserves the sex offender registry more than copping a feel on a bus does.  The damage done is widespread and continues long after the material is published or shared.  Want to see revenge porn disappear?  That would help a lot.

You speak much sense, and I agree with you completely.

ZoSo_the_Crowe: FTA: "Rape culture"

Hoo boy there's a great trolling buzzword.

http://evebitfirst.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/a-man-is-a-rape-supporte r- if/

From the list:
He watches pornography in which women are depicted

Seriously? We are only allowed to watch male-only gay porn? Otherwise we think rape is 'okay'? WTF is that author smoking?

Sounds like she had the sex then regretted it when people found out. If your to weak to take hounding after falsely accusing guys boo hoo. World doesn't need girls like her in it

NutWrench: Popcorn Johnny: NutWrench: Well, other than the photos of the actual rape that everybody passed around. WTF?

You should really read more than one article on the story.

Which part is incorrect? The rape part or the "passing around pictures of the rape" part?

Only the parents think she was raped. Nobody else does.

luxup: I have no idea what happened and of course it's a horrible story.  HOWEVER, I have yet to meet a 17 year old (did she have them at 15) with so many tattoos that was all sweet and innocent.  Regret can be a hard pill for a kid to swallow and I'm guessing parents who let their kid run around with all that ink (fake or not) were probably not clued into how she was feeling until too late.

oh stfu.

straight-A student whose favourite subject was science.

MythDragon: Seriously? We are only allowed to watch male-only gay porn? Otherwise we think rape is 'okay'? WTF is that author smoking?

Some years ago I read an article in Spare Rib, a now defunct British feminist magazine, which claimed that straight porn was bad because it degraded women but that gay porn was even worse because it rejected women altogether. Overdiligent application of theory can lead to some very odd places.

namegoeshere: Joe Blowme: Only solution is to have internet control, finger printing and background check before every post. Oh, and a fee on every post as well

/if i was this parent, i would be hunting wabbits
//and wtf didnt her parents move her out of that school?

They did. The thing with the internet is, it's everywhere. The rape, the bullying, the slut shaming all followed her.

If it was me,  i would have been arrested for multiple assaults of minors.

orbister: Nidiot: If they don't, eventually average citizens might be pissed off enough to bring about what they see as justice their own way.

Ironically, of course, that is exactly what happened in this case. Don't assume that average citizens will always be on your side.

Valid point.

In all honesty I'd rather things were done properly via the law. What is their official statement? We just don't have evidence to convict the rapists, or, we don't have evidence that the rape claim is legitimate in the first place? Aren't false accusations also an offence? So since there is no mention of her being charged with making a false accusation, personally I'm thinking these are guys getting away with rape.

Lorelle: Popcorn Johnny: Sorry, you don't convict someone of rape based on the word of one person and a photo or two.

When you're so drunk that you're throwing up, it's clear that you are NOT in any condition to give consent to having sex, or to make any rational decision, for that matter.

Totally agree with Lorelle.

doglover: Back in the day, the initial RCMP investigation would have been 4 homicides of teenage boys and no one would have seen anything.

And that would have been wrong.  I think FARK is pretty much of one mind when it comes to police determining guilt and acting without authorization.  The RCMP are cops, not judges.

That said, this whole situation is awful.

MythDragon: ZoSo_the_Crowe: FTA: "Rape culture"

Hoo boy there's a great trolling buzzword.

http://evebitfirst.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/a-man-is-a-rape-supporte r- if/

From the list:
He watches pornography in which women are depicted

Seriously? We are only allowed to watch male-only gay porn? Otherwise we think rape is 'okay'? WTF is that author smoking?

Yeah, I can't quite tell if the author, there, is trolling, an idiot, or hasn't bothered to think about any of the contents of that list for longer than it took to type it up.

What happened to her seems horrible, but like too many of these stories, they start with stupid decisions by the victim that leave them vulnerable to predators.  Nobody deserves to be raped, but you have to realize their are people out there looking to harm you.  Getting drunk around a bunch of teenage boys while you are teenage girl is never going to turn out well.

Quinsisdos: orbister: Overdiligent application of theory can lead to some very odd places.

Like say, Tumblr, where this idiocy thrives

what is this?  I don't even.

Hi guys, sorry I'm late. Traffic was a biatch.

Abacus9: 100 Watt Walrus: Look, there's a lot of this going on in this thread. You have no clue what the police did or did not do. It's possible they dropped the ball. It's also possible that there wasn't enough evidence to arrest anyone.

The pictures should be evidence enough because: She's underage, and drunk. Two different ways she can't legally consent. Plus, distributing the photos is also a crime.

Fifteen isn't underage if the other guys are close in age and aren't otherwise responsible for her, and nobody can prove how drunk she was. The RCMP say there isn't enough evidence to prove sexual assault (as opposed to 'consent and recant' or retaliatory accusation for spreading the photo, not that I'm suggesting she did either of those things either because I don't know anyone involved and wasn't there) so we have to take them at their word until we find out that the inspector's son is one of the guys involved or something.

As for whether the photo's child porn or not, that's a weird one. The depiction of a sex act with a child is child porn by definition, The only things I can think of is that there's either insufficient detail in the photo to objectively identify the subject as a child (if she's not recognizable in the picture then you have to rely on the obvious absence of secondary sex characteristics) or it doesn't pass the "if she were dressed would this still be a creepy picture" test.

Whether it was rape or not doesn't really matter: They photographed her naked and used the pictures to turn her life to shiat. I'm not saying I'd have gone to school with a weapon and done something to these guys, but if she had I don't think I'd feel particularly bad about it.

luxup: I have no idea what happened and of course it's a horrible story.  HOWEVER, I have yet to meet a 17 year old (did she have them at 15) with so many tattoos that was all sweet and innocent.  Regret can be a hard pill for a kid to swallow and I'm guessing parents who let their kid run around with all that ink (fake or not) were probably not clued into how she was feeling until too late.

you and Popcorn Johnny should really hook up. Each of you is about as good as the other's going to get.

Damn...pretty dusty in here this morning...

I hope the four guys are caught and have an eel inserted against their will, then get it X-rayed, then get their faces, names, addresses, and phone numbers published along with the X-ray images.

Seems like when kids are educated about sex, they are only taught about the physical act and not also about the emotional side of things. A lot of teens don't seem to have an understanding of the repercussions of having sex, aside from the whole pregnancy thing. Much more to sex than bumping naughty bits.

Nidiot: orbister: Nidiot: If they don't, eventually average citizens might be pissed off enough to bring about what they see as justice their own way.

Ironically, of course, that is exactly what happened in this case. Don't assume that average citizens will always be on your side.

Valid point.

In all honesty I'd rather things were done properly via the law. What is their official statement? We just don't have evidence to convict the rapists, or, we don't have evidence that the rape claim is legitimate in the first place? Aren't false accusations also an offence? So since there is no mention of her being charged with making a false accusation, personally I'm thinking these are guys getting away with rape.

Wrong on both counts, I'm afraid. "We don't have enough evidence" could mean "there was no rape", "there was a rape but we can't prove it" or "we don't know what the hell happened". They don't say more to protect the privacy of the victim and the accused.

While technically a false accusation of rape is Public Mischief, NOBODY would even start to produce the brain chemicals necessary to begin approaching thinking about the idea of maybe bringing that to a Crown, because if that discouraged even one victim from reporting a rape she wasn't sure she could prove then whatever time this false accuser served wouldn't be worth it. That sort of thing is usually handled in civil court.

manimal2878: What happened to her seems horrible, but like too many of these stories, they start with stupid decisions by the victim that leave them vulnerable to predators.  Nobody deserves to be raped, but you have to realize their are people out there looking to harm you.  Getting drunk around a bunch of teenage boys while you are teenage girl is never going to turn out well.

This! Ladies have to use some common sense. However with all that ink I doubt she had any

I smell bullshiat. For there to be photographic evidence and everybody just makes fun of her and calls her a slut? Police say not enough evidence?

The biatch got drunk and farked a room full of dudes... then called it rape when the word got around. End of story.

namatad: this shiat just never ends.
bad parents, leading to terrible children, who will be awful parents
abused kids, having kids and then abusing them

shudder

That sums up the human condition well, I think.

/ now i'm sad...

Dimensio: Alonjar: I smell bullshiat. For there to be photographic evidence and everybody just makes fun of her and calls her a slut? Police say not enough evidence?

The biatch got drunk and farked a room full of dudes... then called it rape when the word got around. End of story.

Well, if a libel artist such as yourself is able to make such a determination, then no further investigation is warranted.

I wouldn't be surpised if thats the truth. Parents were most likely clueless to how she lived. They let her ink up and dress like a slut and bad things happened. Boo hoo

Nidiot: In all honesty I'd rather things were done properly via the law. What is their official statement? We just don't have evidence to convict the rapists, or, we don't have evidence that the rape claim is legitimate in the first place? Aren't false accusations also an offence?

It's not a dichotomy between "true claim" and "false claim". Someone might honestly believe she was raped while there is not enough evidence for the legal system - which can't go solely by belief - to determine that a rape happened. When that happens it's very bad for the victim but it's difficult to see how to change things without making things worse for society. No easy answers, I'm afraid.

Lorelle: This shiat makes me all pissed off and stabby.

It's bad enough having to relive being raped when it shows up in one's nightmares...I can't imagine how it must have been for this girl to have actual photos of the crime shoved in her face and shared with the world.

The only thing she remembers is "throwing up out a window".

She didn't find out she'd been 'raped' until she saw the photos.

Sex with a drunk girl is bad, mmmmmkay, but it isn't the same thing as raping a girl using a knife to her throat as persuasion (or whatever).

Plus... we don't know if it was her first taste of vodka or if she was a real party girl who'd already slept with half the boys at the party.

We don't know the facts, let's not judge anybody.

Where's Dexter when we need him???