Lawyers Blame Victim For Sexual Assault

What the hell?!?

Lawyers Blame Victim For Sexual Assault

Via Gawker reports:

Well, this is completely sickening: the defense lawyers for three former U.S. Naval Academy football players accused of raping their classmate spent roughly thirty hours over the course of several days grilling the victim about her sex habits. The questions — which were asked in a public hearing — were intrusive, victim-blaming, and humiliating. The victim was asked whether she wore underwear to the party at which she was raped, whether she apologized to one of her accused rapists “for being a ho,” and how wide she opened her mouth during oral sex. Absolutely, totally vile.

The Times’ depiction of the victim’s cross-examination by the defense is nauseating:

In the Article 32 cross-examination, defense lawyers repeatedly asked the midshipman about a consensual sexual encounter she said she had the next day. In some of the most widely disseminated testimony, Andrew Weinstein, a lawyer for Mr. Bush, asked the woman whether she wore a bra or other underwear to the party and whether she “felt like a ho” afterward. Lt. Cmdr. Angela Tang, a lawyer for Mr. Graham, also asked the woman repeatedly about her oral sex technique, arguing over objections from the prosecution that oral sex would indicate the “active participation” of the woman and therefore consent.

In a civilian trial, questions about a woman’s underwear and how she performs oral sex would not be permitted, for about one thousand obvious reasons. This is absolutely sickening!