On paper, #MeToo is a good cause. Contrary to the hype, no one in their right mind is against exposing and punishing rapists. However, in our eagerness to see criminals get what they deserve, there are many innocent people who get trampled by the mob. Our society has reached a level where a woman can simply point a finger and claim that a man raped her. Then along comes the cult, ready to take him out with no questions or evidence asked. God forbid someone have enough sense to refrain from taking sides until some proof is uncovered; then they become the enemy. As we see time and time again, a man can lose his reputation, his job, and worse, all based on nothing but a woman's word.
While it is true that rape is a difficult thing to prove, taking away a man's right to "innocent until proven guilty" is not the solution. The following 7 stories tell how far false allegations can go. Some of these stories are graphic. If you're a man who supports the idea of condemning the accused based on a woman's word alone, you especially need to pay attention. As notoriously misandrist men like Justin Trudeau and Michael Kimmel can attest, it can easily come back to bite you.
Ross Bullock
"Ross Bullock, was 38-years-old, when he killed himself after his accuser, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made allegations of rape against him."
The very first line of a news article about this man brings up a scary fact: an accuser has the right to anonymity, even after the accused is found innocent. Ross met this woman in February 2015, and they had consensual sex that same month. They also flirted via text messages, dozens of which he thankfully kept on his phone. Just one month later, Ross was arrested on suspicion of rape. He showed them the text messages, and they let him go, warning him that he could be charged at a later date.
The following year, Ross hung himself after what his suicide note called "a year of distress." His parents sued the police department for their treatment. They were soon told that there was no case to answer. The woman is being investigated for her accusations. Anonymously, of course.
Moises Arias-Aranda
The woman -- Amelia Wilson-Romos -- responsible for this case went on to confess her lie, as well as what happened in retaliation for her "rape." Moises' body was discovered by police in a SUV that he borrowed. He had been stabbed in the back 36 times, and there were injuries in his head and face. His hands and legs were bound, and a noose made of cloth was laying beside him. Amelia and one friend had lured him to a house so he could beat up Moises. The friend ended up calling three more people, and you can guess what happened next.
Johnathan C. Montgomery
Elizabeth Coast claimed that her neighbor, Johnathan C. Montgomery, molested her in 2000 when he was 14 and she was 10. This was the excuse she gave at age 17 when her mother caught her watching porn. Despite a lack of evidence, he was convicted and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He served four years before she finally confessed. Elizabeth only received two months in prison and was told to pay $90,000.
Jay Cheshire
Jay Cheshire, 17, was falsely accused of rape, only for the allegations to be withdrawn 2 weeks later. Jay, who had a history of depression, and had been seeing a psychiatrist since age 13, committed suicide by hanging. His mother, Karin, sunk into a depression that put her in a hospital for 6 months. One year after taking her son off life support, she hanged herself. The accuser's name is still being kept anonymous.
Terry Brown
Lisa-Jayne Samuels accused Terry Brown, a man she hardly knew, of rape to get some attention from her mother. From then on, Brown and his pregnant girlfriend would often be attacked by a mobs of vigilantes, including one instance where they were assaulted by 20 people and she fell down and had a miscarriage. Because their home was surrounded, they had to wait until everyone left before calling an ambulance. The couple soon had to flee their hometown. One year after the accusation, Lisa admitted to lying, and only received 20 months in prison.
In 2016, Terry revealed that he and his girlfriend were living in the woods because he can't get housing or work. When people saw him on the streets and in stores, they would still call him a rapist. People would often throw rocks and destroy their tents.
Grant Bowers
Sarah-Jane Hilliard told police that Grant Bowers had raped her. He was jailed for 8 days before Hilliard was arrested for false accusations. Despite this, Bowers was a target for 11 months. After the court case, people started kicking in the door of his flat, and shouting "rapist" though the letterbox. He moved into temporary accommodation, but he heard that people were offering £100 to find out where he was. He had also been threatened and chased through town with a knife. While Bower could have faced 10 years, Hilliard only received 12 months in jail, and that was suspended for two years.
Luke Harwood
18-year-old Luke Harwood was accused of rape by Alice Hall. He was punched and kicked to death by five people, including her sister, and left for dead. The group also planned to slice off his fingers and pull out his teeth so the body could not be identified. Detective chief inspector John Sandlin said that Alice was "in no way to blame for the extreme attack" which she could not have predicted and had been a "crucial witness" in the case.
Between the media's insistence on putting the accused man's face and information everywhere, and the fact that the liars make it more difficult to believe the actual victims, this trend of "no proof necessary" needs to end. Don't let people who play the "false allegations are rare" card distract you from all that has happened to the men in the article. That statement is BS, anyway.
I'll leave you with some tips for protecting yourself from false allegations:
Avoiding False Accusations of Rape - John Davis
How to Survive a False Accusation - johntheother
