Alleged Ireland Rapist Acquitted Due To Victim's Panty Choice

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Alleged Ireland Rapist Acquitted Due To Victim’s Panty Choice

Last week, a rape suspect was acquitted of all charges after his lawyer—a WOMAN—insisted the victim’s underwear at the time of the assault may have indicated she was attracted to the 27-year-old man. Now, folks are protesting on behalf of the 17-year-old girl all over Ireland, thongs in hand.

Defense Attorney Elizabeth O’Connell reportedly told the jury in her closing arguments:

“Does the evidence outrule the possibility that she was attracted to the defendant and was open to meeting someone and being with someone?” Adding, “You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.”

The 27-year-old suspect was later acquitted in a UNANIMOUS verdict…wow, does it get anymore disgusting? From the NY Post:

About a week later, outrage erupted — even during a session of Irish Parliament, where Legislator Ruth Koppinger drew a thong from her sleeve.

It might seem embarrassing to show a pair of thongs here … how do you think a rape victim or a woman feels at the incongruous setting of her underwear being shown in a court?” Koppinger said, according to The Guardian.

Fiona Ryan, who sits on the Cork City Council, told the paper that public outcry over the attorney’s comments took a few days to build — “but it festered.”

At a Dublin rally Wednesday, Tara Brown of the National Women’s Council of Ireland pushed for a change in the way the country handles such cases.

“We stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault who are being grievously failed by our criminal justice system,” she said, according to the Guardian. “The type of clothes a victim was wearing has no place in our criminal justice system, and it had no place in determining what is consent.”

“We have a responsibility to create a safe system for survivors of sexual assault, and we are repeatedly shown that we are a long way from achieving a victim-centered [prosecution] system.”

In Belfast Thursday, protesters tied their underwear to placards, chanting, “My little black dress does not mean yes,” the outlet reported.

Hit the flip to see outrage spill over onto Twitter.