Does the UVA rape accuser have a mental disorder?

[repoman]

I just wanted to ask this because I can't see any other reason for her actions.

 

[arkirk]

I just wanted to ask this because I can't see any other reason for her actions.

Raging hormones cause a lot of problems for young people. Frankly, I think it could go either way. The real problem is sorting it out. Just what is a mental disorder and what is merely a bad experience one has trouble with and then gets in trouble over? IMHO there are people who are wrongly convicted and punished and people who do really terrible things and get away with it. There are interminable arguments about how the sperm got where it got that are never satisfactorily resolved.

We have to take these things seriously, but it remains the truth we really rarely are sure of decisions made in these matters. Sex is usually something done in private. That gives you a witness problem...he said...she said. Forgive a girl for being intoxicated? Then why not forgive a guy for the same offense? I'm not saying there isn't rape. What I am saying is that in most contested cases, it is difficult to sort out the seriousness of the offense or even if there was an offense. This can be true even in cases where there is the residue of violence. Gangs and frathouses probably are not the hardest cases to settle as there is an atmosphere that is conducive to that kind of activity...drinking bouts, seduction, diminished capacity, etc.

 

[Derec]

I'm not saying there isn't rape.

I am not surprised you would not say that, but it most certainly wasn't rape. She invented the accused by taking a photo from an uninvolved high school acquaintance and wrote messages to both herself and her friends posing as him. It was a very bizarre catfishing scheme with Jackie playing both the role of Matei Te'o and Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.

But you are right that in most rape cases evidence is very scarce. And in those cases both the criminal courts and college tribunals should err on the side of the accused (in dubio pro reo).

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

I just wanted to ask this because I can't see any other reason for her actions.

Raging hormones cause a lot of problems for young people. Frankly, I think it could go either way. The real problem is sorting it out. Just what is a mental disorder and what is merely a bad experience one has trouble with and then gets in trouble over? IMHO there are people who are wrongly convicted and punished and people who do really terrible things and get away with it. There are interminable arguments about how the sperm got where it got that are never satisfactorily resolved.

We have to take these things seriously, but it remains the truth we really rarely are sure of decisions made in these matters. Sex is usually something done in private. That gives you a witness problem...he said...she said. Forgive a girl for being intoxicated? Then why not forgive a guy for the same offense? I'm not saying there isn't rape. What I am saying is that in most contested cases, it is difficult to sort out the seriousness of the offense or even if there was an offense. This can be true even in cases where there is the residue of violence. Gangs and frathouses probably are not the hardest cases to settle as there is an atmosphere that is conducive to that kind of activity...drinking bouts, seduction, diminished capacity, etc.

He's talking about the UVA case, not some other case.

Given that he's talking about the UVA case, why would anyone say there was even the slightest chance that there is even a grain of truth to the story? If you're not saying there was no rape, you're not familiar with the case.