Yes, you read that write: rape victim found guilty.

Shakespeare’s Sister has been sounding the call on this story, and with good reason.  Here’s what happened, as reported here in the Oregonian:

BEAVERTON — A municipal judge found a 19-year-old woman guilty Friday of filing a false police report after she said she was raped by three young men.

Even though the woman never said she lied or recanted her story, city prosecutors say they took the unusual step of filing charges against her because of the seriousness of her accusations.

One can imagine how difficult it must be to come forward and accuse someone of rape.  Many rape victims, sadly, don’t.  The consequences of this case?  A further disincentive to bring rapists to justice.

As a lawyer, I’m trained to try and see all sides of things.  I would point out, for example, that there are women who falsely claim "rape".  And, I would argue, that it is in everybody’s best interest — including women’s — that such falsifiers be prosecuted.

But this particular case is far removed from any worthwhile social policy.  From all accounts,  the evidence that the rape charge was false was underwhelming.  As in most sexual crimes (or conflicts), there is an element of he said/she said, and there certainly was with this particular charge of rape.  However, the judge found the accused rapists to be "more credible", even though their stories were not consistent.

And this is (for me) the entire problem.  In criminal matters, guilt must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.  The judge may sincerely and in good faith believe that the woman here was lying — i.e., that she was not raped.  Fine, I say.  The judge is entitled to his opinion.  But as a matter of law, can the judge actually claim that his opinion is absolutely correct . . . beyond a reasonable doubt? 

The judge noted that the rape victim (okay, fine — the alleged victim) didn’t "act traumatized" in the days following the rape.  I’m not exactly sure how one is supposed to act following a rape.  Is there a manual on this?  There are many degrees of rape — from date rape to violent rape.  And women, as a gender, are not all the same (obviously).  So taking those two factors together, I am pretty confident in saying that there is no single universal template for post-rape behavior.  This judge’s opinion to the contrary is, quite bluntly, sexism of the worst kind.