This is my fave part from the defense attorney though:

“Do you place a pole between your legs and go up and down?� he asked.

Lovely.

Eeewwww.

I really feel horribly for that woman. There's not much worse in the world (save murder) than being sexually assaulted.

This. Is. Abhorrent. Why didn't the woman's attorney make the argument that she wasn't acting in her professional capacity to entice and/or seduce, and thus, his reaction cannot be blamed on her because it was not a product of her intent? Is this to say that all sexy women who cause a man to become erect and then ejaculate are to blame for whatever behavior follows? Oh, this really boils my blood.

This is horrifying. Is that the end of the line or can she appeal?

You can almost ALWAYS appeal. And I sure hope the state does.

I'm also very very glad she at least got almost half a million bucks out of it. She should've gotten way more, but I guess you take what you can get.

Whoa. This is just profoundly awful. It's much worse even than the post here at Feministing indicates. He didn't just ejaculate on her; he put his fingers in her vagina. And the evidence that he set the whole thing up is overwhelming. I am just disgusted with that jury's decision. Damn, every time I think that we've leaving the stone age, something like this makes me think again.

No word in either article about whether the cop still has his job. I sure to Christ hope not.

I cannot believe this. I can't believe that there are people out there who believe that just because a woman enjoys her sexuality, or because she works in a sex-related job, that it's okay to have your way with her- consentual or not.

This is the year 2007. Behavior and views like that make me swear we're still in the age where it's pretty much okay for men to rape and beat women.

*vomit*

Oh, my god. This is my worst fear. A man sexually assaults a woman, and they literally spell out that she wanted it.

I couldn't even watch the similar (oh, but she's not a SEX WORKER!) scene in Crash without shaking for hours.

Oh, this is fun.

Men who use their jobs to extract nonconsensual sexual favors from others get criminal acquittals.

Woman who use their jobs to meet and have consensual sex with attractive men get in trouble.

We certainly can't have women controlling their sexuality, now, can we?

Jesus Christ! What the fuck is wrong with people? This was the choice quote of the article:

“She got what she wanted,� said Stokke. “She’s an overtly sexual person.�

Yeah. She was asking for it. It's her fault she has such beautiful breasts and the poor cop just couldn't control himself. She was 'overtly sexual' even though she was not at the strip club, but in her car on her way home.

Jesus Christ! What the fuck is wrong with people? This was the choice quote of the article:

“She got what she wanted,� said Stokke. “She’s an overtly sexual person.�

Yeah. She was asking for it. It's her fault she has such beautiful breasts and the poor cop just couldn't control himself. She was 'overtly sexual' even though she was not at the strip club, but in her car on her way home.

What the fuck is wrong with people?

“She got what she wanted,� said Stokke. “She’s an overtly sexual person.�

Sometimes I think we need to set up a Feministing legal fund to fight bullshit like this.

No word in either article about whether the cop still has his job. I sure to Christ hope not.

Posted by: Kattyben

The OC Weekly article says he's working construction now.

He should be in jail.

Hey - the other posts I thought my 'puter ate got put up after all. Sorry for the multiple posts everyone.

That's bloody disgusting.

I feel like I need a shower now. Ugh, maybe I don't want my driver's license after all.

There better be an appeal, that's all I can say.

it's really gross that he abused his position and resources as a cop to essentially stalk strippers and exploit them, like for instance by jerking off on them and getting away with it. it's the epitome of the worst stereotypes about cops, about men, and about the nonsense "justice" system.
the ONLY upside is that he was fired.

You can almost ALWAYS appeal. And I sure hope the state does.

::slaps forehead::

You would think a lawyer would automatically understand the difference between a civil and criminal trial. I'm blaming fatigue and a shit mood today.

I don't believe the state can appeal, since there was no mistrial/hung jury/etc. and any appeal ending favorably for the state would result in double jeopardy to the defendant.

I'd hope the jackass gets torn limb from limb by a flock of wild hyenas, except that's not a painful enough way to go.

What the fuck is up with the police lately??

I expect a defense lawyer to do their job. It is good to see that the police administration got him out the door.

But the most troubling part remains the judgment of the jury. The enormity of the evidence indicates a high probability that he was stalking her. And for one to believe she initiated the sexual act, they have no proof of that, except to accept the word of a guy who is a proven liar, a likely stalker and a certain violator of numerous rules of his job, who violated the public trust by agreeing to the sexual act.

In short, they found his word to be more credible than hers, based only on their knowledge of her profession and her use of drugs.

I suspect the ages of the jury were instrumental in the formation of those biases, as well as their gender.

I continue to hope younger males are not so anti-woman in their biases, but as yet, there is no compelling evidence to sustain that hope.

It's a very sick society we reside in, at least in some parts of the country. The names of that jury should be publicized, so they can bear the criticism their hatefulness so richly deserves.

Glad you caught yourself, LF. :)

Now for my public service announcement of the day:
Please take RAD. While most of what they do is focused on training you to physically defend yourself, there is a class session focused on avoidance of bad situations. They don't tell you to stay home or only go out with a matron, a la 1850. The police who run it (and it's run through police departments) say that you have the right to NOT pull over for a police officer at night. You stick your arm out the window, wave him on, call 911, and report what you are doing, where you are, and where you are going.

NEVER, NEVER pull over for an officer, even in a marked car, late at night, ESPECIALLY if you didn't do anything wrong.

I am not blaming the victim, just trying to point out that women can be proactive and avoid these situations. The good cops - and thankfully, this is rare enough to actually be news - really understand and want us to stay safe.

Public service announcement over. :)

Oenaphile,

I've never heard that before! What is RAD? Do you have a web site or more info? It sounds so smart but I'd be afraid about actually trying it. Does night mean any time after dark?

Jesus Christ.

"What the fuck is up with the police lately??"

Honestly. They arrest a rape victim, let a pregnant woman bleed, and now this? I don't uderstand how the jury believed it. I really don't. My mother is in her fifties and my grandmother in her eighties and they wouldn't believe that bull.

It's not even about being liberal or conservative, I think. At least it shouldn't be. I'm guessing they weren't ready to believe that cops were the bad guys and a stripper was the good guy.

But Jesus Fucking Christ on a stick. I need to stop now before I hurt my head on the keyboard.

But Jesus Fucking Christ.

Jesus Christ.

"What the fuck is up with the police lately??"

Honestly. They arrest a rape victim, let a pregnant woman bleed, and now this? I don't uderstand how the jury believed it. I really don't. My mother is in her fifties and my grandmother in her eighties and they wouldn't believe that bull.

It's not even about being liberal or conservative, I think. At least it shouldn't be. I'm guessing they weren't ready to believe that cops were the bad guys and a stripper was the good guy.

But Jesus Fucking Christ on a stick. I need to stop now before I hurt my head on the keyboard.

But Jesus Fucking Christ.

Sorry for the double post. I don't like this computer. It has Websense. I'm lucky I can come here. More like Web-lack-of-sense.

*Goes off on censorship rant*

Sorry for the double post. I don't like this computer. It has Websense. I'm lucky I can come here. More like Web-lack-of-sense.

*Goes off on censorship rant*

the fact that david park did this is bad enough, but him getting away with it, even if it's just for now is horrifying. i can't really believe it.

“She got what she wanted,� said Stokke. “She’s an overtly sexual person.�

I can't believe that a lawyer can speak to/about someone this way in a court of law. That sort of statement is abusive and a blatant personal attack/attack on the person's character. It's dehumanizing.

RAD stands for Rape/Assault Defense (I think) and it is a wonderful program. I found mine through the community center semi-annual lists of their activities, but the police department came in and presented the entire training. A woman officer did our dayily activites and then some of the male officers came in for the last day - the day we put our new skills to the test and actually defended ourselves against an "attacker". I loved it and recomend it to everyone - even little kids (all kids, not just girls).

As for the topic at hand - it sickens me to the core. To the center of my being.

I am EXPLICITLY not taking the side of the cop here - the overall pattern of behavior strongly suggests to me that the officer was mentally unbalanced and stalking the victim, and that he did commit the crime alleged - but I also don't think this is a fair characterization, Kevin:

"In short, they found his word to be more credible than hers, based only on their knowledge of her profession and her use of drugs."

Considering that the LA Times article paraphrases the defense attorney thusly:

"At one point, she testified that she did not work at Captain Cream. But employment records showed that she worked there from July to September 2004, Stokke said.

The dancer also said she did not receive any compensation from Irvine after filing a $10-million lawsuit, Stokke said. But, he said, she received a $400,000 settlement from the city."

(I'm assuming for the moment that the defense attorney would not have the balls to lie in order to mischaracterize testimony that was made in open court, which could easily be double-checked.)

Again, I'm not saying those issues mean the crime did not happen - I think it did, and I think the officer in question belongs in jail - but I think it's unfair to make assertions about the jury's frame of mind based on second- and third-hand accounts of evidence and testimony presented.

RAD = Rape Aggression Defense.

I've taken it twice. There are four sessions; #1 talks about how to protect yourself (i.e. you really can refuse to pull over for a cop, or have a cop walk through your house if you are worried that someone is in there). #2 and 3 teach you to flatten people twice your size, and #4 is a simulated attack.

I don't know about what they told them at Amy's course, but at both of mine, they were very explicit that it's only for women. All of the moves have counter-moves, so you aren't even supposed to practice with your boyfriend or husband. They are really strict about that.

Here's a website:
http://www.rad-systems.com/

This is appalling! A woman is in control of her sexuality and should never be subjected to this kind of abuse regardless if she works in a sexual profession. Not only is it disturbing that it even happened, but the fact that a god damn jury let it go makes me want to set our whole legal system on fire.