Gang Rape Suspects Free In Lockport

http://www.wben.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=05452 ^

[celejrm313]

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 01:48 PM - WBEN Newsroom

City of Lockport, NY (WBEN) - Four 16-year-old boys charged in the gang rape of a 15-year-old disabled girl are free this afternoon. Dontre Woods, Dartain Ubiles, Antonio Shepard and Nicholas Smith appeared in court to answer to charges, the victim did not make an appearance according to Niagara County prosecutor Peter Whittish.

"Our office chose not to run the felony hearing today because the witness is unavailable. We decided it would be in our best interest to move forward with the charges just not in the forum of a felony hearing."

The case will go before a grand jury to decide if there is enough evidence for the charges which range from first-degree forcible rape to felony first-degree criminal sexual act. One of the boys is charged with videotaping the attack on his cell phone. A defense attorney for one of the suspects says the charges may be reduced, Whittish disagrees.

[celejrm313]

amazing. this must be an epidemic.

[ConservativeMind]

Fathers, get your guns out.

Some boys might be a comin'

[AliVeritas]

And videotaped it. What the hell are these boy's parents doing?

[singfreedom]

What, in God's green earth, is going on? Shouldn't these fools, at least, be in juvenile custody? If they have this crime videotaped, how can they possibly be worried about adequate "evidence"? Most disturbing!!

Please keep us posted on how this "case" is going. O'Reilly might be interested.

[celejrm313]

I think you mean what is their parent doing. Pretty safe to assume that there are not fathers in the picture. (unless you count gubmint as the daddy)

[ConservativeMind]

Oh great. Get the nutball O'Reilly involved.

That will solve this!

[GSWarrior]

Gang Rape Suspects Free In Lockport

They should be charged.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

"What the hell are these boy's parents doing"?

---

Making more Dontres!

[singfreedom]

Sorry, in this instance, I have to disagree. O'Reilly has an ongoing effort against judges and DA's who don't fulfill their public obligations. He brings a lot of publicity, then outcry, about cases like this one.

Whether you like him personally or not, he does a "good thing" where this issue is concerned.

[Ouderkirk]

They raped a retard?

They raped a retard?

They raped a retard?

You have got to be kidding me. These boys need lengthy terms in Attica....there is no redeeming them

[Arthalion]

If they have this crime videotaped, how can they possibly be worried about adequate "evidence"?

Well, we don't know what's actually on the video. Depending on the states consent laws, and whether or not they have a Romeo and Juliet law on the books, the sexual act itself may not have been illegal. In many of these cases where disabled girls are involved, the situation turns out to be one where the girl said yes (disabled girls can be talked into doing a lot, apparently), but where she isn't mentally competent enough to give that consent. If the video shows her conceding to the sex, the trial becomes more technical, and the prosecutor will have to convince the jury that her "yes" was irrelevant. Depending on her level of disability, that can sometimes be a tough sell.

[Seruzawa]

Like so many public figures.. they are either great people or total nutjobs... it changes each day on the FR depending on what they said the day before. O'Reilly would become someone as loved on the FR as Anne Coulter tomorrow if he said the proper buzzwords tonight. Anne would become a demon from hell tomorrow if she said the wrong things tonight.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

If they have this crime videotaped, how can they possibly be worried about adequate "evidence"?

His lawyer wasn't present when he video'd the rape, so it's inadmissible. /sarcasm - I think

[chris_ab]

"Our office chose not to run the felony hearing today because the witness is unavailable."

Haven't read but was the witness invited?

Often the privilaged (rich or poor-with help) can work the justice system so as to exclude key people.

[ishabibble]

OK, so you're a powerhouse all on your own!

Look at the accused's names, and then tell me that Bill O'Reilly isn't the one man who can put this horrid case on the national stage without someone crying, "racism".

Bill O doesn't know and doesn't care about the civil PC BS, he only cares about the injustice of it all. Dante and Dartanian can have their day in court, and the system will treat them like strangers. BOR knows their names and knows the entire history. That's a definite ace in the hole. BOR knows your name and that means that, very possibly, you're going away for the full term of your sentence. Publicity is a double-edged sword in the case of rapists and pedophiles thanks to...BILL O'REILLY.

[L98Fiero]

"O'Reilly would become someone as loved on the FR as Anne Coulter tomorrow if he said the proper buzzwords tonight. Anne would become a demon from hell tomorrow if she said the wrong things tonight."

So true and well put.

[singfreedom]

That was a great explanation! Having been a Special Education teacher for nearly thirty years, I take it pretty hard when a "special" youngster is taken advantage of by a bunch of bullies.