A woman claimed to have been sexually assaulted by a man the morning after photos and video of the couple ended up on social media. An Ohio grand jury declined to file felony charges against the man based on the evidence presented to it by police. Ohio State University has said that it will conduct its own investigation into the incident despite the fact that no criminal charges resulted from the incident.
On Oct. 12, some college students had been drinking at a bar near Ohio State University. Two of those students ended up engaging in an impromptu sex act that was photographed and videotaped by the crowd that had gathered near the couple. After the photos and video ended up on social media, the woman told police that she was raped.
The man involved cooperated with police. It was reported that he even asked the woman if she wanted to stop when the crowd formed. According to him, she said no, and the video footage may have supported his contention. She says she is unable to remember the details of that night. Toxicology tests determined there was no sign of a “date rape drug” in her system.
The proliferation of social media has all but eliminated the concept of privacy in our society. The two 20-year-olds in this case most likely never anticipated that their encounter would end up causing the social media stir that it did. However, that may have been no reason for the woman to say that she was sexually assaulted in the aftermath of the rendezvous. There are many women out there who are legitimately victims of rape, but it appears that may not have been the case in this situation, especially since authorities declined to press felony charges against the man involved.
Source: New York Daily News, No charges filed over public sex act near Ohio University campus, No author, Oct. 28, 2013