Some
of the men accused of rape were innocent in the 2004 Air Force Academy onslaught
of charges. There were 56 cases of alleged sexual assault that allegedly
happened between 1993 and 2000 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Many of the females involved in the 56 cases of sexual assault were engaged
in conduct such as drinking alcohol that could get them kicked out of the Air
Force Academy. Some – especially the young men falsely accused
and their supportive families maintain that the Air Force Academy and its supervising
Air Force commanders yielded to political pressure--at the expense of justice.
They wonder if top Air Force brass buckled under political pressure when dozens
of women claimed in early 2003 that the academy had not properly handled their
sexual assault cases. When Congress applied political heat, top Air Force leaders
pushed the academy commanders to find and prosecute the alleged offenders and
bring their cases to court-martial. But friends and families of the falsely
accused men are not the only ones who urgently want their side of the story told.
A number of attorneys who have represented men falsely accused of rape have become
convinced of the reality of false rape charges and the damage they bring.
Accusers complain to press, but men's lives are ruined, too Alleged
victims have appeared on Oprah, on morning TV talk shows and have complained relentlessly
to newspapers, some of whom have called the women "victims" instead
of "alleged victims" — and ruining the lives of innocent men.
Some of the salient
points from SECAF to Air Force Inspector General (Handling Of The Sexual Assault
Cases At Air Force Academy, September 2004)- *Air Force Academy Leaders
took several steps between 1993 and 2003 to address the problem of sexual assault,
indicating they took the issue seriously. *No investigation found a single
case where the Air Force Academy intentionally mishandled an investigation or
covered up a known rape. *Each year about two percent of the females
report some sort of sexual assault, while at the average US College about three
percent of female students report a sexual assault, indicating the AFA does a
somewhat better job of preventing sexual assault than the average college.
*Out of 142 incidents reported over 10 years, the AFA found sufficient evidence
to investigate 56. Of these, six resulted in Courts-Martial with one cadet being
acquitted. Other cadets were expelled or received Non-Judicial Punishment (Article
15). This should put to rest the claim the AFA never punished a male cadet for
sexual offenses. *Many of the alleged victims have changed their stories
over time and could not be corroborated by witnessed, making prosecution difficult.
At least one soaked topless in a hot tub with her alleged rapist after the alleged
rape. Others wrote e-mails indicating the sex was consensual. These suggest that
some female cadets may have filed false charges to cover up their own misconduct,
to manipulate cadets or to leave the Academy without having to pay for their education.
This site is dedicated to the awareness that false accusations of rape
are common and a troublesome reality. |