No rape? No winners.

On January 7, 2016, an absolutely horrific story hit the wire. An 18 year old girl was gang raped by five teenagers in a Brownsville (Brooklyn) playground. Some initial reports indicated she was walking near the playground with a male friend. It turned out that the man she was with was her father. The five boys accused of the crime had a gun and threatened him. The man ran to a nearby store begging for help, but no one assisted. By the time he was able to call the police, the woman had been gang raped repeatedly, and all five boys had fled the scene.

Everyone reacted immediately. Two of the suspects' parents were the ones who turned their sons in. Eventually all five suspects were identified by the press: their names and photos were circulated widely, despite the fact that all five of the suspects were minors, ranging in age from 14 to 17. They were arrested and charged as adults.

The immediate reaction was understandable. People were shocked and outraged at the brutal nature of the reported crimes. Everyone from Mayor Bill de Blasio to Commissioner Bill Bratton to local community leaders to Twitter and Facebook erupted. Most of the reaction was in support of the girl who had been attacked, and how these kinds of attacks must be prevented.

I, myself, remember reacting to the story. I too was horrified at the brutality of the attack. But I also believe that people are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. I remember well a similar situation many years ago when five teenagers were accused of gang raping a woman in Central Park. They were coerced and tricked into confessing and rushed through legal proceedings. They too, despite their ages, were tried as adults and convicted. And they were innocent. Known collectively as the Central Park Five, they are a tragic example of what happens when “we” jump to conclusions and rush to judgment.

Over the next couple of weeks, additional details were quietly coming out. The girl and her father weren't walking near the playground as originally reported. They were actually (allegedly) having sex when the five teens approached them. The father left, and the girl consented to sex with all five boys. The girl allegedly recanted her story of being raped. Despite the report of a gun, the police were unable to find a gun on any of the suspects or in their homes. There was allegedly video taken with a cell phone, showing the girl with the suspects before the alleged attack, as well as showing her having consensual sex with all five boys.

Today, the Brooklyn District Attorney announced that all charges have been dropped against all five boys. Rationale for the action included a lack of evidence, the girl's recantation of the allegations of forced sexual contact and her refusal to cooperate with the investigation. In addition, an investigation into the alleged sexual contact with her father was dropped because she refused cooperation with police in that matter, too. Defense attorneys, of course, retain that charges were dropped because their clients are INNOCENT, not because of a lack of evidence and lack of a participating complainant. https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160224/brownsville/rape-charges-dropped-against-5-teens-accused-of-attack-brownsville-park

No one “wins” here. These five boys escaped the fate of the Central Park Five boys. They didn't have to serve a single day of a prison sentence. They did not have to register on any sex offender list. But they aren't unscathed either. Their names and faces are now associated with a heinous sex attack allegation. For the rest of their lives, when their names are typed into a Google search, THIS will come up. At 14, 15 and 17 years of age, when they apply for college or a job or an apartment, THIS will come up. This can follow them for the rest. of. their. Lives.

The girl who was allegedly attacked doesn't win. Whether her behavior was consensual or not, she was most definitely sexually abused. Sex with her father? That was absolutely abuse! I can't help but wonder when it started... Which adult in her life, who was supposed to take care of her, put her on this path of abuse? How much abuse had she already endured that she would have sex with her father, and then let these five boys line up to take turns? How much more abuse will she endure before she hits rock bottom? Because no matter what may happen in the future, with or without her consent, she has a label attached to her.

And women who are sexually assaulted might be the biggest losers of all. As it is, even under the best of circumstances (if you can call them that), when a woman says that she was sexually assaulted, there are a lot of people who roll their eyes and dismiss her allegation as a lie. They will say that she had sex with her attacker, and then either changed her mind or he didn't call her and now she's “crying rape”. She will have every aspect of her life looked at under a microscope. How does she dress? How many dates does she go on? How many men has she been intimate with... ever? In her whole life? That many? My God, what a whore! Did she have any alcohol? Was she dancing provocatively with him? Flirting? Did she really say no?

Every single time a sexual assault is alleged, when no such attack took place, it makes it that much harder for the next woman who is actually assaulted to come forward. It gives people that much more “reason” to question the next woman who says she was forced. To not believe her. To assume she's lying. To side against her.

I am relieved that if these young men did not force this girl to engage in sexual activity, that they will not suffer the same fate as the Central Park Five and any other man who has been falsely accused and convicted of sexual assault. But there are no winners here.