2 College Students Arrested After Woman Is Gang Raped in Front of Florida Crowd: Sheriff’s Deputies

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Two college students suspected of gang-raping a woman on a Florida beach just steps away from crowds of spring break revelers have been charged with sexual battery and suspended from their university, officials said.

The attack involved three assailants and occurred sometime between March 10 and 12 “in broad daylight,” Bay County, Fla., Sheriff Frank McKeithen said at a news conference. “Within 10 feet of where this happened, there’s hundreds, hundreds of people standing there, watching, looking, seeing, hearing what’s going on.”

A third person is still being sought in the Panama City attack, which the Sheriff’s Office said came to light only after police in Troy, Ala., came across a cellphone video taken by a bystander.

http://ktla.com/2015/04/12/2-college-students-arrested-after-woman-is-gang-raped-in-front-of-hundreds-of-people-in-florida-sheriffs-deputies/

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Who stands around why this is going on? The bystanders should be arrested as well.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Who stands around why this is going on? The bystanders should be arrested as well.

I agree. Like Jodie Foster in the Accused. Someone should have stepped in and stopped this horrible act.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

While it may be morally reprehensible not to give assistance, they're under no obligation to do so by law.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

While it may be morally reprehensible not to give assistance, they're under no obligation to do so by law.

Aww come on Maven. Can't we get them on something?

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Aww come on Maven. Can't we get them on something?

We judge them in the court of public opinion as douchecanoes.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

We judge them in the court of public opinion as douchecanoes.

I prefer douchenozzles.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

While it may be morally reprehensible not to give assistance, they're under no obligation to do so by law.

Isn't that accessory?

[Boiler 43,429]

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Isn't that accessory?

Well, in order to be an accessory before the fact (which is what the people present would be), a person would have to purposefully aid, abet, encourage, support or incite the alleged rapists to commit the rape. A party does not aid and abet unless, in some way, he associates himself with the undertaking, participates in it as in something he desires to bring about, and seeks by his action to make it succeed. (Sorry for the cut and paste from my notes -- it's just faster!) While in some circumstances words can rise to the level of aiding/abetting, it would realllllly be a stretch here to find that would rise to such a level to incur accomplice liability.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Well, in order to be an accessory before the fact (which is what the people present would be), a person would have to purposefully aid, abet, encourage, support or incite the alleged rapists to commit the rape. A party does not aid and abet unless, in some way, he associates himself with the undertaking, participates in it as in something he desires to bring about, and seeks by his action to make it succeed. (Sorry for the cut and paste from my notes -- it's just faster!) While in some circumstances words can rise to the level of aiding/abetting, it would realllllly be a stretch here to find that would rise to such a level to incur accomplice liability.

They stood around and watched. That's accessory to me. If it isn't, it needs to be made. It is disgusting to sit around and watch such a dehumanizing act.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

They stood around and watched. That's accessory to me. If it isn't, it needs to be made. It is disgusting to sit around and watch such a dehumanizing act.

The problem is there is the law as we wish it to be, and the law as it is. I know that's harsh, but it's true. The weight of centuries of common law and decades of statute are against stretching accomplice liability to cover such circumstances. If the net was cast too broadly, anyone in the vicinity of a crime being committed could potentially be criminally liable for not assisting the alleged victim. That's not an outcome that is desirable for any number of reasons. Common law countries like the US tend to punish sins of commission, rather than omission, on the theory that people should only be liable for their actions and not their failure to act (except in circumstances where there's a special relationship between the parties, a contractual obligation to act, etc.). There needs to be a step taken to aid or assist, and standing around doing nothing isn't enough to be that step. While you or I may and do (and I certainly do) judge these people, they can't be punished at law.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

I believe that this was the subject of a great Seinfeld episode and one of the incidents that came back to haunt them in their final episode trial.

Some places have Good Samaritan laws requiring bystanders take action.

Not having seen the video of the incident it's not inconceivable that many failed to notice the alleged sexual assault for what it was, or noticed the event at all.

[Boiler 43,429]

McKeithen said the attack was “probably one of the most disgusting, repulsive, sickening things I’ve seen this year on Panama City Beach, and I’ve seen a lot of them.”

He also called for change in the Florida Panhandle county, which is popular with spring break tourists, and emphasized that the attack was not an isolated incident. “There’s a number of videos we’ve recovered with things similar to this, and I can only imagine how many we haven’t recovered,” he said.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

I believe that this was the subject of a great Seinfeld episode and one of the incidents that came back to haunt them in their final episode trial.

Some places have Good Samaritan laws requiring bystanders take action.

Not having seen the video of the incident it's not inconceivable that many failed to notice the alleged sexual assault for what it was, or noticed the event at all.

Those places are the exception, not the rule. Eugene Volokh (as always) gives a nice breakdown of where the duty to rescue is codified: http://volokh.com/2009/11/03/duty-to-rescuereport-statutes/Good Samaritan laws actually cover situations where a member of the public who is under no duty to assist does assist and makes an utter hash of it. And in any event, this is one of those situations where a duty is imposed (by statute), so a sin of omission is putatively punishable.

In Florida, there is a duty to report if one reasonably believes one is witnessing sexual battery and is able to report the sexual battery immediately to an officer without putting oneself in harm's way. Failure to seek assistance is a misdemeanor; there is no duty to intervene and assist. Interestingly, only Vermont and Minnesota appear to require the giving of any sort of assistance. So at most those not reporting the battery could be liable for a misdemeanor of up to one year, but in practice I suspect prosecutions are rare. Still, there was not a duty for anyone to actually do anything here.