(crossposted at
Preemptive Karma)
Our quiet little corner of Oregon has touched off a blogosphere firestorm.
The story of the 17 year old Oregon girl accused of filing false rape charges against 3 young men has spawned at least one misconception, which I'll clear up here.
(more after the jump)
Several
bloggers and
commentors have made mention of Oregon's statute which deems
individuals under the age of 18 incapable of sexual consent (ORS 163.315). However, the alleged rapists were within three years of the alleged victim's age, so under Oregon law it's not considered statutory rape:
163.345 Age as a defense in certain cases. (1) In any prosecution under ORS 163.355, 163.365, 163.385, 163.395, 163.415, 163.425, 163.427 or 163.435 in which the victim's lack of consent was due solely to incapacity to consent by reason of being less than a specified age, it is a defense that the actor was less than three years older than the victim at the time of the alleged offense.
I just had a lengthy conversation with the Jeff Napoli, the defense attorney in this case, who agreed with me that this would not qualify as statuory rape under Oregon law.
According to Napoli, if this were a case of statutory rape the Washington County District Attorney's office absolutely would have filed charges.
This story has a lot of twists and turns..much of which I'm still researching and investigating. I'll have more to report as the week progresses. In reporting sensitive stories like this that truely touch a nerve, its vital that we get them correct. There are multiple sources and it will take a few days (at least) for me to get to them all.
Napoli is filing an appeal in the next few days. Due to the arcane system in the City of Beaverton, there is no court transcript or audio recording of the court proceedings. Beaverton is not a "court of record". Therefore the girl is entitled to an appeal and the case will be tried over again from square one, in Washington County court.