Suspects in Macon high school rape case cleared; now alleged victim faces charges for false report
In the setting-the-record-straight department, the alleged rape at Northeast High School in Macon did not occur, according to police, who say now that the victim made up the story and that any sex that occurred in the school restroom was consensual.
All rape charges against the seven Northeast High School student suspects have been dropped, and instead the young woman has been charged with falsifying the report that she was raped.
According to the Macon Telegraph:
Inconsistencies arose during the Macon police investigation of an alleged rape in a Northeast High School restroom Jan. 19. When police questioned the girl Friday, she admitted that she had made untrue statements to her mother and police.
She was charged with a felony, making false statements to law enforcement, and a misdemeanor, falsely reporting a crime.
Authorities have said sex acts did take place in the restroom. No further charges are anticipated against the teens, Winters said. Contacted Monday, Bibb school officials would not discuss disciplinary action for specific students, citing federal student privacy laws.
According to Bibb County’s student code of conduct, however, engaging in sexual conduct on campus is a Level V offense — the code’s most serious. Level V offenses require an office referral, parental notification and a conference with the student, an administrator and a parent or guardian.
Students may also face long-term suspension — more than 10 days — as well as referral to an alternative education program, expulsion and other consequences. Randy Howard, the system’s chief legal counsel, said he could not discuss details about how the school system generally handles other cases of sexual conduct on its campuses either, citing the same student privacy laws.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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65 comments Add your comment
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
3:16 pm
WOW! Can’t begin to count the number of posters here who tried to inject RACE into this case when you first reported it.
V for Vendetta
February 14th, 2012
3:23 pm
So a whore cried foul and then the truth came out. Shocking. Where are all those posters like GM who were crying “protect the poor innocent children”?
the prof
February 14th, 2012
3:37 pm
Argosy………..hahahahaha. BTW, stop whining.
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
3:39 pm
@the prof
An Internet stalker! I’m flattered! Glad to bring such joy into your obvious cuckolded, pathetic life!
bootney farnsworth
February 14th, 2012
3:56 pm
problem is, in an accusation of rape, the man’s reputation is forever soiled regardless of validity of claim.
the woman, however …..
in cases of proven false accusation, the law should come down like a ton of bricks on the accuser
bootney farnsworth
February 14th, 2012
3:58 pm
moderated again?
WTH?
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
4:08 pm
@bootney
Here’s a site that might help you:
http://www.godaddy.com/search/domains.aspx?isc=gooymo802a
For only $7.95 a month YOU can build YOUR own site and post to your hearts content.
p.s. Quit whining, I’ve been moderated too.
C Jae of EAV
February 14th, 2012
4:17 pm
While it would appear the alledged crime may not have occurred, I’m personally still disturbed by the reaction/responce the situation got from the local district central office adminstation.
What happens in the dark will come to the light when you flip the light switch. Trying to mask events rather than deal to them in a measured and responsibl manner commerate with the level of severity of the alledged event always backfires.
Like I said before...
February 14th, 2012
4:35 pm
another case that points out you have to wait till all the facts come out. sounds similar to the Duke case a few years ago.
Maureen Downey
February 14th, 2012
4:40 pm
@Like I said, As a new reporter, I covered a case of a rape allegation that turned out to be false. The teenage girl recanted and said it was consensual. But the site of the tryst — a garbage-strewn lot — contributed to the initial acceptance of her story. Who would willingly have sex amid trash and in the cold?
This story has a similar question attached do it: What teenage girl would want to have sex in a school restroom during the school day?
The answer is a very troubled young woman. I hope she gets help.
Maureen
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
4:51 pm
@Maureen
Sad to say but since I’ve been in education, 10 years, there have been at least 15 cases of students getting caught in the act on school property in the small 1 high school district that I work in.
Archie@Arkham Asylum
February 14th, 2012
5:26 pm
When I taught Middle School, one of the duties I had during class change was to unlock the restrooms and then to lock them up when class change was over. It was well-known that if you didn’t lock up, that restroom would very likely be used for sex or other deviant activities by students skipping class. If a student got the “call of nature” during class, they would have to get a hall pass and go to the office and use the restrooms there, after logging in with the secretary! It may not have been foolproof but I think this policy helped reduce the number of incidents of this sort! Better to be proactive than reactive!
Ron F.
February 14th, 2012
5:48 pm
Archie: I’ve had potty patrol duty many times in my 20+ years. It’s amazing to me how many teens think it’s okay to have sex in a bathroom or anywhere else they can find. I’m still amazed though that this many kids were able to get out of class for this to happen.
Elizabeth
February 14th, 2012
6:00 pm
And yet people still believe that kids will not lie, cheat, or make false accusations against a teacher they do not like. People still scoff at the idea that kids will deliberately fail the test if they know the teacher’s job depends on the scores. People still react with disbelief when teachers recount true stories of the lies students tell parents and administrators to get themselves out of trouble or to get the teacher who corrected them, gave them a failing grade ( correction, actually recorded the failing grade earned by the student), caught them cheating, etc., in trouble. You wonder why we resist the idea of evaluations tied to test scores? That is the dirty reason that no one except teachers accepts or believes. Why is anyone surprised? The teachers on this blog certainly are not.
Old timer
February 14th, 2012
6:09 pm
My husband as an investigator has worked several false allegations…as the father of two daughters he is very sensitive about this subject. It does happen much more often than we would think.
Old timer
February 14th, 2012
6:12 pm
Teachers are subject to false allegations also…see the case here in Cobb. The man was found not guilty…his life was destroyed and now he has to fight to get his license back. This happened several years ago in Clayton County.
Hugh Beaumont
February 14th, 2012
6:56 pm
Well “Dr”, it took you exactly 4 minutes to bring race into it, but again, I guess if it was not for that, you really would have nothing to talk about, now would you?
Brandy
February 14th, 2012
7:23 pm
I wish we could keep these cases from making headlines, at least until all the facts are known and the cases are fully investigated. It is unfair to the falsely accused, when their lives are quite often ruined. Anybody else remember the man who was falsely accused of the Olympic Park bombing?
To V
February 14th, 2012
7:43 pm
I am right here, V. Again, my mantra is the same. Protect the kids indeed. Why were seven kids unaccounted for and wandering around the halls unnoticed in any school? Consensual or not, this school has no handle on security. This would have never happened in my poor high school where the teachers took role every class period, reported absences and the principal walked the halls during class to make sure everyone was where they should be.
Consensual or not, this school is an epic failure.
Good Mother
catlady
February 14th, 2012
7:47 pm
Elisabeth is right, and where is Good Mother tonight?
Prof
February 14th, 2012
8:03 pm
@ catlady. You were dragged through mud about 10 days ago for reminding us all of the simple truth that students have often been found guilty of false accusations against teachers, so we should always presume the accused innocent till convicted in court.
Vile, vile, vile.
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
8:06 pm
@Hugh Beaumont
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQFEY9RIRJA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
ScienceTeacher671
February 14th, 2012
8:17 pm
Maureen, gotta agree with Dr. Proud Black Man here…students WILL have sex in the restrooms. You’d be amazed.
my personal computer
February 14th, 2012
8:28 pm
Cannot believe that the Clayton County board spent in excess of $40,000 on an investigation to find out the source of a rumor in the midst of budget cuts and furloughs. Justify this board chairwoman.
Anonmom
February 14th, 2012
8:36 pm
As the mother of boys (3 teenaged boys), I am constantly speaking with them about “guilty until proven innocent”, the Duke rape case — one of the Defendants wasn’t even at the party with the other Lacrosse players — the guy who was away with his girlfriend in Tennessee when she called the police on him and other incidents in the news when the girl “rats” on the boy because she thinks it’s a nifty game or might make money on it…. The girls hold the “cards”. I know, as a woman, that there are times when rapes happen and the guys should be prosecuted but there’s a line that gets crossed and I don’t want my sons getting signals crossed. We discuss signed consent forms and the like. It scares me so. (No, I don’t believe they’d be doing it in restrooms at school… ) But we discuss it.
Hugh Beaumont
February 14th, 2012
10:03 pm
Glad we agree “Dr”, if it was not for race baiting, you have nothing, you know nothing, and you will be even less relevant in the future.
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
10:13 pm
And you can tell all of this on an anonymous blog??? Take off your tinfoil hat and get a life Hugh. Sheesh what a loser!
ScienceTeacher671
February 14th, 2012
10:14 pm
I take roll [yes, it's roll, not role] every class period, and I can tell if a student was absent all day or just during my class.
What I can’t tell until after class is over is whether the students who were only absent for my class were signed out because they were sick, had a doctor’s appointment, etc., or whether they are skipping.
Maybe we should equip all of our students with ankle bracelets or something similar that would trigger an alarm if students are out of class for more than 2-3 minutes at a time? Good Mother, would that be adequate for you?
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
10:23 pm
Good Mother is very conspicuous by her absence.
Lee
February 14th, 2012
10:28 pm
Everyone has overlooked the fact this girl was a “special needs” student. The article doesn’t give any more information as to the type (physical or mental) or severity of her “special needs”.
Something to think about before you start calling her a “whore” and absolving the boys of all responsibility.
AdoringFan
February 14th, 2012
11:01 pm
Thank you, Lee. That was really bothering me, too. Special needs covers a very broad base, so depending on the “specialness” of the girl, even her “consent” could be suspect.
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 14th, 2012
11:06 pm
@Lee
Don’t you think the police AND DA took that into consideration when they charged her?
Lee
February 14th, 2012
11:32 pm
@PBM, they also charged the boys initially. We see how that turned out….
Lee
February 14th, 2012
11:38 pm
Bottom line, something still doesn’t smell right about this whole, sordid mess…
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 15th, 2012
12:00 am
@Lee
Sounds like the system worked good. The accusation turned out to be false and the girl was charged with lying and the charges were dropped against the boys.
Elizabeth
February 15th, 2012
6:36 am
Principals do not have time to “patrol the halls” during class. Nor do teachers, media specialists, counsellors, or any other scholl personnel. We are too busy doing the jobs we were hired to do– educating yuor kids. If you want hall patrols , then either be prepared to volunteer to do it, or hire someone. Unless you want us to stop planning lessons, grading papers, having parent-teacher cong=ferences, meetings, etc., we cannot be in the halls. When do kids get to take some responsibility here?
catlady
February 15th, 2012
6:49 am
I am guessing the girl’s special needs were not in the intellectually delayed area. Kids with certain low IQs cannot form the requesite intent or give legal consent. They would not have dismissed if it was due to a low IQ.
prof–I’m not sure kids having sex in the bathrooms are “innocent” at all.
Shakeesh
February 15th, 2012
7:07 am
Innocent can refer to a condition in life or perspective. More commonly, when there is a rape allegation means innocent of a crime. When someone says, these boys are not “innocent” they are too often leveraging one sense of the word into the other.
Like the Duke Hoax, it’s important that the police, press and the school not overreact until the facts are known. It’s also important that we recognize the inncent as actually innocent.
ByteMe
February 15th, 2012
7:42 am
Level V offenses require an office referral, parental notification and a conference with the student, an administrator and a parent or guardian.
I’m guessing most of this already happened even before she recanted.
John from Little Five Points
February 15th, 2012
9:05 am
Still gives you a kinda’ queasy feeling aboiut that school, doesn’t it? Pretty depressing, especially when you consider that educators tell us our schools are “just fine”.
carlosgvv
February 15th, 2012
9:07 am
Dr. Proud Black Man
Since the girl and her alleged rapists are black, how is reporting this inject race? The fact is this type of behavior is far more likely to occur with black students than white students. All of the finger-pointing and name calling in the world from you will NOT change this fact.
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 15th, 2012
9:57 am
Fingerprinting? Name calling? My you are such a delicate sister! Here’s a little bit of free advice for you; take off your tinfoil hat, get out of your mothers basement, AND GET A LIFE!!! Sheesh!
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 15th, 2012
9:58 am
“finger-pointing”
mom3
February 15th, 2012
10:06 am
I am guessing, based upon your incorrect grammar, that you are not a ‘DR’ of education.
the prof
February 15th, 2012
10:08 am
wahhhhhhh……..wahhhhhhh……wahhhhhhh……Argosy…….hahahahahaha
rojer
February 15th, 2012
10:12 am
Why is sex in a bathroom so odd? Deviant, even? I only WISH I could have more sex in the bathroom.
V for Vendetta
February 15th, 2012
10:15 am
GM,
We agree on that point: I’m sure this school IS an epic failure.
carlosgvv
February 15th, 2012
10:19 am
Dr. Proud Black Man
1. You didn’t bother to deny my observations.
2. You live in a world of denial and accusations, and you tell ME to get a life?
Dr. Proud Black Man
February 15th, 2012
11:04 am
@carlosgvv
zzz
Pluto
February 15th, 2012
11:09 am
Had a student in Dekalb high schools that asked to be excused to the potty. She was gone 10 or so minutes and returned. Later that day a colleague told me this student was caught doing the big nasty in a darkened hall during my class. She had the audacity to ask me for a college recommendation the next year. At my present school a teacher has been accused by a student of assault, police investigation turned up no chargeable offense occured. School system is still investigating and teacher is being turned on. Love this job.