Re: [gatortalk] Treon Harris attorney releases statement

I agree with Zeb - "sexual initiator" or "initiator of sexual contact" would have been a choice I'd prefer.  But as Rob pointed out, the objective of the defense attorney is to set a specific narrative that paints his client in a better light.

Nevertheless, it does trouble me, because the statement and its choice of vocabulary is "slut-shaming" at its worst, and it adds to what is already a difficult situation for a woman who goes to the authorities regarding a rape case.  The statement infuriates me because a) just because she might have initiated the sexual contact, it doesn't mean that he didn't do something in the act she did not want him to do (which is rape) and b) consensual sex prior to a rape doesn't make the subsequent rape any less of a rape. 

Now, if she indeed falsely claimed rape to get back at Treon Harris (and yes, these women do exist, but statistically, these are somewhere in the range of 4 to 8 percent of all reported rape cases), then she deserves what she gets (and suspension from UF should be in the list of those things).

On Sat, Oct 11, 2014 at 10:06 AM, Rob Alexander <gator@autumnwood.us> wrote:

I am certain that the word was carefully chosen to subtly convey exactly the meaning that Zeb read into it. Johnson's role is not to provide an objective evaluation of the case, his role is to vigorously defend his client. In a case like this, the best way to do that before charges are filed is to 1) be the first to put a story in the minds of potential jurors, which then becomes the default version, and 2) to send a message to the complainant that this will be a very uncomfortable process. If you do it well, and quickly, you may avoid charges ever being filed in the first place. It is not pretty but that is our adversarial system.

Rob

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 11, 2014, at 8:54 AM, Woody Bass <gatorrrrrr@gmail.com> wrote:

I dont think thats the intent of its use. I think its saying that she was making her intentions of reaching out to Treon quite explicit 

Woody (via iPhone)

On Oct 11, 2014, at 5:57 AM, John Vega <zebulon@gate.net> wrote:

I don't particularly care for the multiple use of the term "aggressor," especially twice.

If the woman initiated the sexual activity, so be it. Leave it at that.

"Agressor" almost implies that she was a rapist and Treon a victim.

-Zeb

From: "mail.bobparks.com" <oliver@bobparks.com>
Reply-To: GatorTalk <Gatortalk@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2014 at 1:37 PM
To: GatorTalk <Gatortalk@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [gatortalk] Treon Harris attorney releases statement

From Gatorbait.net

Huntley Johnson, the attorney representing suspended quarterbackTreon Harris in a case he's being investigated in for an alleged sexual assault, released a statement to the media on Thursday afternoon. Below is the full text of that statement.

FULL STATEMENT FROM HUNTLEY JOHNSON

We are releasing this statement in an attempt to help clarify the circumstances surrounding the investigation of Treon Harris.

The status of Mr. Harris as a student at the University of Florida is that he was given an interim suspension pending a resolution by the administration of the University. After an appeal of the decision to suspend Mr. Harris, the University decided to allow Mr. Harris to continue his online courses. Because he is not allowed on campus, Mr. Harris is currently not attending those classes which occur in a classroom.

In terms of the criminal case, as most of you are aware, the University released a redacted police report yesterday evening. Currently, Mr. Harris has not been arrested and the criminal investigation is ongoing.

First, we want to dispel the idea that the alleged victim and our client didn't know each other. Our client and the alleged victim knew each other to the extent that they had each other's cell phone numbers and had previously spent time together of their own accord for the purpose of socializing together.

We want to dispel the idea and rumors floating around that our client forced his way into the alleged victim's apartment. Those rumors are patently false. Mr. Harris has never been inside the young lady's room. We understand that all of the evidence was gathered from our client's room, which is where the interaction between the two parties took place.

We know that an individual has given testimony to law enforcement that he had sexual relations with the alleged victim less than an hour before the alleged sexual conduct with our client took place. In fact, testimony indicates that the young lady in question was the sexual aggressor in that interaction.

Our investigation has produced no evidence whatsoever that the young lady in question was impaired.

We have provided law enforcement with multiple witnesses that will indicate what the interaction was between the alleged victim and our client before they returned to our client's room: they were smiling and they were holding hands. They returned to the Springs Residential Complex in a car driven by another female student who was a friend of the alleged victim.

We have provided multiple text messages to the authorities investigating this incident. These texts were exchanged among the alleged victim, Mr. Harris, and the other gentleman mentioned above.

When these text messages are released, they will show that the young woman making these allegations initiated the conduct with Mr. Harris while he was still in the locker room in Knoxville. Shortly after the team plane landed, texting continued between Mr. Harris and the alleged victim.

We believe the evidence will show the alleged victim was in fact in the sexual aggressor with not one, but two young men early last Sunday morning.

Misstatements in the media to date have painted a picture that is inconsistent with the evidence. That said, we have fully cooperated with this investigation. Mr. Harris agreed to a search of his dorm room. Mr. Harris agreed to a search of his phone. Mr. Harris gave a voluntary statement to law enforcement. We have turned over at least six (6) eyewitnesses to the events in questions to law enforcement. We have turned over the text messages to law enforcement. We have suggested to law enforcement multiple locations from which they should secure video surveillance. We have provided law enforcement with information gathered from the Internet that this young woman posted on Sunday, after the alleged misconduct, where she is smiling and happy. There is no indication of any physical or mental trauma. We have previously indicated that we do not believe that Mr. Harris will be arrested or prosecuted. That is because of our experience and the facts of this case. He is not guilty of a crime and he did not mistreat this young lady in any way that night.

Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI, SFR

Real Estate Broker

Bob Parks, LLC

145 Maple Row Blvd

Hendersonville TN 37075

Mobile: 615-972-4239

Office: 615-826-4040 

Sent from my iPhone

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