It is way to easy for someone to accuse a person of sexual assault in this country and destroy the life with no consequences. The debate? How severe should the consequences be? I'd be willing to debate the issue?

The past five years have been an unthinkable nightmare for Johnathon Montgomery and his family. Montgomery was sentenced to 60 years in prison after a young woman in her late teens accused him of sexual assault, which she said occurred years earlier when Montgomery was 14 and she was 10 years old. Montgomery spent four years in a Virginia prison before the woman recanted and admitted the crime never happened.  False accusation and false witness are not new to those who have studied DNA-proven wrongful convictions, but how our system responds to one who recants such a damaging lie deserves thoughtful consideration.

In this case, a striking reversal of fortune reveals that Johnathon Montgomery was the true victim and Elizabeth Coast, now 23, was the perpetrator of a lie that soon will have her facing a grand jury hearing. She is charged with one count of perjury. If indicted and convicted, she could face up to ten years in prison.
What prompted Coast to invent this crime and finger Montgomery? What penalty is appropriate for someone who lies under oath and costs an innocent person years in prison?

As Coast has explained, she invented the story of sexual assault when her parents discovered her viewing sexually explicit content on the Internet. Coast accused Montgomery, who had moved from the area, to derail her parents’ anger, and because she thought the police would never pursue or find Montgomery.
See the rest of the story at the link below.

http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2013/03/05/justice-system-should-heed-victims-views-in-false-accusation-case/

One of the questions posed to one of my interviewees for my book, Slaying of Imaginary Dragons, what would happened if everyone refused the pleas offered. The response was a short thought and then the response, "Our system would crash." Below is an excerpt from an article on the awesome web site Sex offender Issues. I recommend reading the entire article posted on 3/10/2012. http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/

One of the questions posed to one of my interviewees for my book, Slaying of Imaginary Dragons, what would happened if everyone refused the pleas offered. The response was a short thought and then the response, "Our system would crash." Below is an excerpt from an article on the awesome web site Sex offender Issues. I recommend reading the entire article posted on 3/10/2012.   http://sexoffenderissues.blogspot.com/

Go to Trial: Crash the Justice System written by Michelle Alexander

On the phone, Susan said she knew exactly what was involved in asking people who have been charged with crimes to reject plea bargains, and press for trial. “Believe me, I know. I’m asking what we can do. Can we crash the system just by exercising our rights?”

The answer is yes. The system of mass incarceration depends almost entirely on the cooperation of those it seeks to control. If everyone charged with crimes suddenly exercised his constitutional rights, there would not be enough judges, lawyers or prison cells to deal with the ensuing tsunami of litigation. Not everyone would have to join for the revolt to have an impact; as the legal scholar Angela J. Davis noted, “if the number of people exercising their trial rights suddenly doubled or tripled in some jurisdictions, it would create chaos.”

Such chaos would force mass incarceration to the top of the agenda for politicians and policy makers, leaving them only two viable options: sharply scale back the number of criminal cases filed (for drug possession, for example) or amend the Constitution (or eviscerate it by judicial “emergency” fiat). Either action would create a crisis and the system would crash — it could no longer function as it had before. Mass protest would force a public conversation that, to date, we have been content to avoid.
Now I would love to see the system crash to force reform but the reality is this is information that people get after their lives are ruined by taking a plea. Nobody ever thinks they will be falsely accused of anything. Think again.

I want to thank everyone who follows my blog and I hope you continue despite my limited postings until Jan. 2nd, 2013. Until then I do not have access to the Internet. I will return on the 2nd with the hope of releasing my book, The Slaying of Imaginary Dragons to purchase on line.  Happy Holidays!

From the site, I Was Falsely Accused, this man was given advice that is the first I have found in my research. The reality here is that this is good advise for those who have money. For those who don't you are at the whim of the system. I feel for those who fall into that black hole for there is no getting out. Everyone says don't take a plea, but then what, stand in front of a jury that doesn't want to be there? Who you are told by your attorney that they will believe the victim not you. Then you risk 15 to 30 years in prison for only an accusation, with zero evidence. And this we call a free country.

http://iwasfalselyaccused.com/my-story/

My Dad is an extremely smart, successful and intelligent man.  He has many contacts through his work.  One of them happens to be friends with a nationally renowned legal expert.  When my father told his friend what was happening, he put him in touch with this expert immediately.  The information he gave to my father was literally invaluable.  Here is a synopsis of his advice:

•  A local lawyer is not what you needed for this kind of charge.  He said this charge is literally a life or death situation, and the best chance is with a nationally known expert in this kind of case.
• He said to personally meet with, and interview several of the top attorneys, and choose who you feel most comfortable with.  He provided a list of four experts in the immediate area, as well as one national expert on these cases.
• In the meeting with the attorneys, he advised the following questions were critically important to consider:
• Is the attorney a member f the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)?
• What is their track record in cases like this?
• Who will be the actual attorney leading the case?
• Who will prepare the case for trial and argue in court?
• How many others will work on the case, who are they, and what is their expertise?
• How will you help with non-legal matters like preventing damaging publicity?  He said this can be one of the most important points because history proves that people change what they know and believe when they read and hear things in the news, and are even less likely to continue to be supportive if the case becomes controversial.  He said that often once strong supporters will change their minds once a story appears in the media, and even once the truth comes out they never return as friends.
• Finally – he advised that Mr. Murphy’s plan to seek a bail reduction hearing was completely inappropriate given the nature of the charges.  He said that a bail reduction hearing would bring the case publicly into a court room, and in front of the media…and the goal of any attorney right now should be to keep the publicity around the case to a minimum until they can do their own investigation.  This advice alone convinced me that Mr. Murphy was the not the lawyer for me.

If you want to see a moving website please go to the following site. It just breaks my heart to read about so many who have been destroyed by our judicial system. Something has to be done. It is my mission to make real changes to end this atrocity.

http://iwasfalselyaccused.com/#comment-8140

My focus has been on the men falsely accused of sexual assault. It is true that in the 60's and 70's there was a push to make it okay for women to report rapes due to the stigma that went along with being raped. The problem now is the pendulum has swung so far to the other side that the norm is to use sexual assault accusations for a means to destroy men.

I found a video on U-tube video of a man who was accused of sexual assault but he as it says, "Luckily video taped the encounter." The tape cleared him of the charges. Following the video was pages of responses.

The following post is a sad statement to where we have come in this country.

I never believe rape reports when i hear them now. I have made a point over the last year of following reported rapes on the news, which never come back and confirm whether the woman was telling the truth. Over the past several months i have been looking up rape reports i heard earlier in the year and it turns out ALL of them were false. Rape is just so highly politicised now its unbelievable.

dafty97MRA

How do we fix this?

A registered sex offenders sister keeps inviting him to attend her daughters plays or competitions at her school and church. The sister has to be reminded that the sex offender can't set foot in a school or church less risk violating his probation and being sent to prison. The sister doesn't understand why he can't attend church because she believes he couldn't have committed the sexual assault he was accused of. Taking a plea to avoid prison for a sexual assault will ultimately destroy your life as you continue to be crucified being on the Sex Offender Registry.

The fear of these imaginary sex offenders being instilled by politicians is destroying lives all in the name of being re-elected—it is an injustice, and changes need to be made.

                  Politicians aren’t alone in fueling the fear flame. One report on MyFox.com: Some Worry Sex Offender Targeting Kids, posted Sept. 13, 2010. He’s a three time convicted sex offender who served his time, but appears to be back to his old ways. The Monroe man is accused of targeting children, and so far police can’t stop him. FOX 2’s Taryn Asher investigates why this man continues to slip through the cracks of the law. The video report shows individuals who report that Parker continues to put himself in a position that he’s alone with male boys. The problem is, he’s no longer on probation. Until there’s a victim he cannot be arrested.

                  That’s the problem—this is one of the 5% that the authorities should be giving their full attention to.

                  In the report, the police say a parent’s best defense is the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Like in the case with Christopher Parker, they can use it to gain knowledge about sexual predators in their areas.

                  This is a ruse. The complaints about Parker came from three churches and the Monroe Fair Grounds. The SOR had nothing to do with empowering parents of the children Parker targeted. The problem is how to get predators off the streets, not to add all men to the SOR just to be cautious!