Rape charges dropped

After extensive investigation, the state attorney general's office announced on May 3 that it had found insufficient evidence to warrant prosecution in the case of a 17-year-old girl who alleges she was raped at a party last year hosted by members of the De Anza College baseball team.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr had reached this same conclusion earlier, but after public outcry she decided to refer the case to California Attorney General Jerry Brown. In a letter written to Carr, the state attorney general's office stated that it had spent more than 1,000 hours reviewing the case, including independent interviews, physical evidence and police consultations.

Lauren Bryeans, a De Anza women's soccer team member and one of three students claiming to have witnessed a sexual assault at the party, said that she was upset about Carr's original decision, but understood that it was based on evidence rather than emotion.

However, she felt that charges should have been filed. "I put a little more faith in the decision after she decided to send the case to the [state] attorney general," she said.

On May 5, the other two students claiming to have witnessed an assault, April Grolle and Lauren Chief Elk, said they could identify two of the men involved, contradicting statements made by state investigators regarding a dearth of eyewitness accounts.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Bryeans stated that she could identify a man who forced the 17-year-old girl to perform a sex act on him.

The case began last March when, after Bryeans, Grolle and Chief Elk brought the girl to a hospital from a party they had attended, a sexual assault complaint was filed. Eight men were named in the investigation, but on June 4, Carr announced that the men would not be charged with a crime due to inconclusive evidence.

Attorney General Brown's office reported that while it was "truly impressed with the actions taken by the three witnesses," their limited vantage point of the alleged sexual assault made it difficult for them to provide consistent identifications of persons involved. It concluded that there was insufficient admissible evidence to justify a criminal prosecution.

In a general press release, Carr restated her belief that the case could not be successfully prosecuted while also expressing her sympathy for the victim. "As a former leader of this office's sexual assault unit, a former judge, and as a mother, my heart goes out to this young woman when I think about what happened to her that night," wrote Carr.

"As your district attorney, I am frustrated that this office cannot bring this matter to criminal court."

Sandy Davis, director of the Silicon Valley YWCA Rape Crisis Center, said that although the law states that a drunken person cannot give consent, jurors tend to judge victims more harshly if they were under the influence of alcohol during the assault.

"[The law] doesn't always prove to be the protection we want it to be if it's left up to a jury to decide," she said.

The young woman in question, who has chosen to remain anonymous throughout the entire process, filed a civil lawsuit against the eight men in March, one year after the party. She is seeking monetary compensation for damages.