MARYVILLE, Mo.—A Fox News guest suggested that women cannot attend parties and drink alcohol without expecting to be raped or taken advantage of.
Following the news that a Missouri county prosecutor had asked a special prosecutor to review the charge that a 14-year-old girl was raped by an older high school student in 2012, Fox News host Shepard Smith invited criminal defense attorney Joseph DiBenedetto to explain the case on his show.
“I’m not saying she deserved to be raped,” said DiBenedetto, “but knowing the facts as we do here including what the prosecutor has set forth, this case is going nowhere and it’s going nowhere quick.”
“But what did she expect to happen at 1 a.m. in the morning after sneaking out?” continued DiBenedetto. “What it comes down to is this: if you’re a woman who likes to party and have a good time, you have to choose between that and the very real possibility of being raped.”
DiBenedetto was referring to the case of Daisy Coleman, a high school student who claims that authorities in the town of Maryville, Mo. helped protect her alleged assailants from criminal charges.
Nodaway County Prosecutor Robert Rice maintains that his decision to drop the charges in the case stem from a lack of evidence and the victims’ refusal to cooperate. He said that once Daisy and her mother, Melinda Coleman, invoked their Fifth Amendment right, the case could no longer move forward.
“What you’ve done, Joseph, is taken an alleged victim of rape and turned her into a liar and a crime committer,” Smith suggested. “That’s a far jump from a 1,000 miles away.”
DiBenedetto disagreed. “Isn’t every woman who stays out late and behaves promiscuously committing a moral crime? Aren’t these women lying when they dress the way they do and then claim they don’t want attention from men?”
Smith then pointed out that “promiscuous behavior and immodest dress” are not crimes.
“Well, maybe they should be. Look at this case. Look at the Steubinville case. Both rape incidents allegedly took place at parties where girls were drinking. If you take away the girls and take away the drinking, there would have been no rape,” concluded DiBenedetto.
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17 comments
Stop the planet. I want to get off. It’s people like this that make you realize the only reason they’re alive is because it’s illegal to murder them.
OMG. Fraud News is at it again with these guests. One more time. Drinking and Partying and dressing cute does NOT CAUSE RAPE. RAPISTS who are CRIMINALS CAUSE RAPE.
If all women should expect to be raped, then all men are rapists! So I ask you Joe, who have you raped? You mean to tell me that I can not expect to be treated as an equal?! You are truly one of the most ignorant people I have ever heard speak!! Hope your not married. If I was your wife, I would have filed for divorce as soon as I heard this!!
“…if you take away the girls and you take away the drinking there would have been no rape”. This guy is a freaking genius! If we get rid of stores there will be no shoplifting. We can eliminate traffic violations by getting rid of cars. But let’s think even bigger. If we get rid of humanity, we can forever eliminate… wait for it… ALL CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY! Someone get this man a Nobel.
holy crap. he should lose his job for this.
Actually idiots talking like this cause rape because it makes other idiots think it’s okay to rape a woman if she’s drunk at a party.
Moral crimes are only crimes in the mind of the person that has that moral view. Being out late, while not the best idea is not a crime. Dressing in a provocative was it not a crime. It only says to LOOK AT ME, which we did. But then to COMMIT a real crime and attack that person and inflict your will sexually even though unwanted is a CRIMINAL crime. And punishable with societal judgement in a criminal justice system.
To not investigate and then not to prosecute such a CRIMINAL offense is even a greater CRIME and in itself carries penalties.
If you were to remove the boys, there would have been no rape either…lets talk about the lack of respect for women that was obviously present in those rape cases.
I want to leave this country we have to many idiots running around saying the dumbest shit,…i guess he may have raped someone who else would say something so dumb…
So, what your saying is, it’s really not the rapists fault because he just can’t help it when women are around. I see. I don’t think you can make this up.
They really are the pseudo Christian version of the Talban aren’t they…if we didn’t have them tempting us, then we wouldn’t have impure thoughts and want to rape them….Hey party by yourselves then…oh,oh that would mean you’re just with guys, watch those naughty thoughts. What a bunch of degenerate douchebags!!!
What the actual fuck?! Shoot him please, that’s one more full retard right there.
this guy have a fb page you think??? i might have to go look him up..
What a Dickhead!!!
R u freaking kidding me really?
I didn’t know that men were creatures of such little ethical fiber and willpower that they are compelled to violate women due to their clothing choice or levels of intoxication. Poor things, I guess us women should break out the burqas and stay at home to protect the rapists from our sinful ways.
Oh wait: since there are still rapes in places where women don’t party, and there are lots of men who never, ever commit rape even ONCE in their lives, there is probably just something wrong with rapists. We should probably address the problem, instead of blaming the victims.
Everyone else, carry on.
In my youth, both I and most of my friends went to- and sometimes gave- parties where liquor, dirty jokes, and raunchy music flowed freely. We were neither drugged nor raped at any of them. We no more expected that from people we kneww than we would have expected to be cooked and eaten if we accepted an invitation to a barbecue.