Sue Them Blind

This is the story, a previous gang rape, that I just couldn't bring myself to post. As if the heinous assault wasn't bad enough, the parents and the defense attorney for the culprits (who taped themselves committing this act) exhibited a level of misogyny that was worse than the actual criminals.

A pending civil action in California may establish a new legal precedent, holding defense attorneys and their investigators civilly liable for the emotional damage they inflict on sexual assault victims while preparing their client's defense.

Jane Doe was 16 years old when she was sexually assaulted by Greg Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, all 17, as she lay unconscious on a pool table. Haidl videotaped the incident, during which Jane Doe was violated with a variety of objects, including a pool cue, a lighted cigarette and a Snapple bottle. During the criminal action, Joseph Cavallo and other lawyers for the defense cast the victim as an aspiring porn star who had submitted to the boys' actions voluntarily. Doe was also vigorously cross-examined regarding her sexual past. The defense's efforts to smear her reputation and credibility failed. The three young men were convicted of sexual assault, and are currently serving time.

Now 20, Jane Doe has brought a civil action against the three, and named Haidl's father, a wealthy former assistant sheriff in Orange County, as a codefendant. Doe alleges that Haidl's father should have been aware of the parties, which featured drugs and alcohol, that were held in his Corona del Mar home, where the assault occurred. In an unprecedented legal move, the $26 million case also names Haidl's defense attorney, Cavallo, and his two investigators, John Warren and Shawn Smigel, for their actions in causing the plaintiff extreme emotional distress.

We can point fingers at the level of oppression and maltreatment of women in other countries but we have a definite culture of disrespect and disregard for women as something other than pieces of meat right here in America and it absolutely has to stop!

This story is just repulsive.