Online Outrage Forces Attorney to Drop Contempt Charges Against Teen Rape Victim

Posted by Kevin Farrell on Jul 24, 2012 in News | 8 comments

Justice is NOT being served for Savannah Dietrich.

We were horrified to tell you yesterday about Savannah Dietrich, a 17-year-old Kentucky girl who was facing jail time for tweeting the names of the two young men who raped her and shared photographs of the brutal assault with friends.

After a Kentucky judge allowed the two rapists to accept a plea bargain, reduced charges, and a much lighter sentence, Dietrich was victimized all over again when Judge Dee McDonald ordered her to never speak of the case again.

Frustrated, Dietrich broke the court’s gag order and identified the two men on Twitter for all the world to know, which prompted David Mejia, an attorney representing the men, to file contempt charges against Dietrich.

When the world learned that this young lady was now facing 180 days in jail for saying the names of the men that raped and humiliated her, we freaked the hell out.

Close to 40,000 people signed the petition to have contempt charges dropped that I shared on UB yesterday, bringing the total to well over 100,000. BAM!

And just like that…

On Monday, attorneys for the boys dropped their motion to charge her with contempt. David Mejia, an attorney for one of the boys, said the decision to withdraw the motion had nothing to do with public sentiment and online attention to the case.

“The horse is out of the barn,” he said. “Nothing is bringing it back.”

Chris Klein, an attorney for one of the boys, said publicizing their names may create problems for them in the future.

Klein said it’s possible, but unlikely, that prosecutors would make the same contempt charge against Dietrich. Both sides will still be bound by the confidentiality of the juvenile court proceedings.

Yes, I imagine that future employers, lovers, roommates, and landlords will very interested to learn that these two men raped a teenage girl. But you know what? They raped a teenage girl! And then posted pictures of the attack online!

We have zero sympathy for these men or their attorneys.

In any case, THANK YOU UB readers. 30,000 of you read our post and shared the petition. This is very much a case of Savannah Dietrich not being able to do it without you.

Thank you.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Andre-Washington/100001692943965 Andre’ Washington

they should have been prosucuted as adults. If your old enough to sexually assault someone you’re an adult.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1005919520 Erica LeVan

They may say it had nothing to do with online and public attention, but they WERE pressing charges until then. Therefore, unless they give an answer that makes logical sense that tells why they changed their mind, I’ll maintain it was still the online and public attention. They just don’t like to admit the public has power because then we can put them back in check. I’m glad the situation is resolved. Though personally… I don’t really care if the perpetrators get their lives ruined. If they feel they have a right to ruin someone else’s life, yes, they are due some backlash that ruins their lives as well and makes them seriously decide committing the crime was not worth it. Rape does ruin lives to a point. It creates trauma. Trauma ends up developing PTSD (Post Taumatic Stress Disorder). There is no official cure for that. You can go to therapy. You can avoid your trauma triggers religiously. You can take your antidepressants every single day. However, you will never forget what happened. You live with the consequences of that occurence for the rest of your life. You can tune it out, and be positive about it in addition to everything else, but that’s the best anyone can do. I hope their crime haunts those little brats for the rest of their lives so they may have a taste of the kind of pain they just inflicted on another person.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1005919520 Erica LeVan

They may say it had nothing to do with online and public attention, but they WERE pressing charges until then. Therefore, unless they give an answer that makes logical sense that tells why they changed their mind, I’ll maintain it was still the online and public attention. They just don’t like to admit the public has power because then we can put them back in check. I’m glad the situation is resolved. Though personally… I don’t really care if the perpetrators get their lives ruined. If they feel they have a right to ruin someone else’s life, yes, they are due some backlash that ruins their lives as well and makes them seriously decide committing the crime was not worth it. Rape does ruin lives to a point. It creates trauma. Trauma ends up developing PTSD (Post Taumatic Stress Disorder). There is no official cure for that. You can go to therapy. You can avoid your trauma triggers religiously. You can take your antidepressants every single day. However, you will never forget what happened. You live with the consequences of that occurence for the rest of your life. You can tune it out, and be positive about it in addition to everything else, but that’s the best anyone can do. I hope their crime haunts those little brats for the rest of their lives so they may have a taste of the kind of pain they just inflicted on another person.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1005919520 Erica LeVan

>.> Sorry for the double-post.
Iris Caldor

They took photos and posted them online.
That’s child pornography.
That’s a $250,000 dollar fine plus one year in jail per photograph.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Emily-Phillips/848844856 Emily Phillips

Unless you know someone who knows someone who knows the judge.

Phil Mata

F*** YEAH! Savannah has already been through the wringer and doesn’t need this bull****.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1548347739 Nikki Santos

Happy to hear these charges were dropped, what a shame that this is what our court system has become, protecting the guilty and penalizing the innocent. My prayers go out to her and her family and hope that she gets the help she needs for recovery.

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Online Outrage Forces Attorney to Drop Contempt Charges Against Teen Rape Victim

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