The Patrick Kane Rape Case

[travzilla]

Now deserves its own thread, especially with the various legal minds in the swamp.

After the Kane and the Blackhawks held a rediculous "nothing to see here" press conference last week, the accuser lawyer met the media today:

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The lawyer for a woman alleging she was sexually assaulted by Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane says an empty evidence bag was improperly left in the doorway of the woman's mother's home.

Thomas Eoannou (ee-WAHN'-oo) said Wednesday that the bag at one point contained the rape kit used when the woman reported that she had been assaulted.

Eoannou wants the FBI or state police to probe how the bag left the custody of investigators.

Eoannou says it's not clear how the bag got to the mother's home or what effect it may have on the investigation. He says the mother made the bizarre discovery when she came home from work for lunch on Tuesday.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita did not immediately return a message seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Police have been investigating Kane since early August. He has not been charged.

So a rape kit from an active investigation shows up on the victim's mother's front step. Twitter is full of confusion right now, but a lot of chatter that it was dropped off there by either a whistleblower (exposing the tampered kit) or a good samaritan who found it and took it to the whose (victim's name and address was on the kit). No evidence that it was sent there maliciously. (Conspiracy-minded folks have been quick to note the Kane family has close ties to several members of the Buffalo PD).

Lots of this story still needs to come out, but I'm about as disgusted as I've ever been with the NHL right now. People were pretty unanimously against the Hawks having Kane in camp before this came out. If they keep going with the business as usual tomorrow there's going to be a LOT of backlash.

[brian]

As much as I hate to say it I think Kane's history has to play a role here too. I'm more apt to think where there's smoke there's fire with him.

[travzilla]

Kane camp taking victim blaming to the next level.

[BSF21]

What the fuck is going on? This is starting to read like a bad movie.

[mister d]

Just a terrible week for my already dwindling tolerance of humans.

[mister d]

Stephen Whyno ‏@SWhyno 3 minutes ago
Hamburg Police says in statement that its handling of evidence and chain of custody "is unassailable" in Kane case.


Then how. The fuck. Did it end up. On. A. Fucking. Porch.

[A_B]

Stephen Whyno ‏@SWhyno 3 minutes ago
Hamburg Police says in statement that its handling of evidence and chain of custody "is unassailable" in Kane case.


Then how. The fuck. Did it end up. On. A. Fucking. Porch.

In related news, the dead dog of the alleged victim was last seen in a bag matching the rape kit's bag in the Police Evidence Locker.

[Steve of phpBB]

Kane camp taking victim blaming to the next level.

I'm trying to not pay attention to this, because if Kane is a rapist I don't want to know about it. But why does the DNA evidence matter in this case? Does he deny having sex at all with the alleged victim? Or is he arguing that she had sex with others the same night?

[Brontoburglar]

Kane camp taking victim blaming to the next level.

I'm trying to not pay attention to this, because if Kane is a rapist I don't want to know about it. But why does the DNA evidence matter in this case? Does he deny having sex at all with the alleged victim? Or is he arguing that she had sex with others the same night?

"The evidence technician who works for the county tested it. He said there was no Patrick Kane, and that's all I needed to know," Cambria said. "We were told other DNA was found, but none of it was from Patrick."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ho ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[travzilla]

I'm trying to not pay attention to this, because if Kane is a rapist I don't want to know about it. But why does the DNA evidence matter in this case? Does he deny having sex at all with the alleged victim? Or is he arguing that she had sex with others the same night?

I believe Team Kane has alleged there was other male DNA. I think the leaks of the rape kit that came out last week mentioned no Kane DNA in her genitals but was found elsewhere on her body. Of course if the kit was tampered with, any info that's been leaked already is suspect.
Kane's attorney has put out a statement today saying they think the rape kit is evidence in their favour (and thus would have no reason to destroy it) and that Kane is the actual victim in this case.

[Nonlinear FC]

Whoa. What the fuck?

[travzilla]

Hmmm....



There aren't many options for this to play out that aren't mega-weird

[Giff]

I haven't been following this all that closely, but are we just assuming the lawyer is telling the truth here?

[SportsDoc]

A nurse who has dealt in such cases has said that after a rape kit is tested, it is placed in a new evidence bag and resealed as part of the chain of custody. Old bag is often discarded. Possible the old evidence bag is what was placed on the doorstep?

[Steve of phpBB]

Hmmm....



There aren't many options for this to play out that aren't mega-weird

I think I'll go back to not paying close attention. What a clusterfuck.

[travzilla]

A nurse who has dealt in such cases has said that after a rape kit is tested, it is placed in a new evidence bag and resealed as part of the chain of custody. Old bag is often discarded. Possible the old evidence bag is what was placed on the doorstep?

This does seem like the least-crazy explanation, but still curious who put it on mother's door step. Shifts the maliciousness from the evidence tamperer to the deliverer.

[mister d]

It does make the most sense but ... Jesus ... how could her attorney fuck up this badly?

[Joe K]

It does make the most sense but ... Jesus ... how could her attorney fuck up this badly?

Yeah, making an allegation like this in such a high profile case, and getting it wrong, could amount to career suicide for an attorney. I think that's why most people reacted credibly to his allegations.

[Steve of phpBB]

So it turns out that in Erie County, rape kits aren't even put in evidence bags? They are put in boxes instead.

Jeebus what a mess.

If anyone is interested in twitter feeds on this, Julie DeCaro and Stacy St. Clair are worth a follow.

DeCaro is a former lawyer (public defender) who is now a sports reporter in Chicago. She does get pretty preachy, though.

[govmentchedda]

And now, the attorney has fired the accuser. Things are starting to look up for Mr. Kane.

[Nonlinear FC]

A friend asked me what was going on, I typed this up and I'm probably missing something:

* Patrick Kane is involved. Shitshow is baseline.

* After the allegations come out, the club owner goes on record saying "a woman" was all over Patrick at the bar. Which... so what?

* It turns out the woman he was referring to isn't even the accuser/victim.

* There have been a ton of leaks. Most people are pointing fingers at the defense lawyer (Kane's).

* That same defense lawyer guy got on Facebook and argued with people, at length, about the leaks and other "blame the victim" type stuff he has said.

* This week, the victim/accuser's mom brings a package to their attorney. The attorney holds a press conference and says the rape kit was dropped off at the mom's doorstep, clearly tampered with. It has marking that have the victim's date of birth and other personal info... Seems legit!

* Everyone on the PD and prosecution is all "um, that's some bullshit." And proceed to hold a presser explaining why it's some bullshit.

* Victim's attorney holds subsequent press conference announcing he can no longer represent the woman. Not because of the woman, but... because. People are further entranced by the shitshow.

* DA has a press conference today, which includes surveillance video, showing exactly when/where the actual rape kit was and currently sits. Pretty much flat out says the mother fabricated the entire rape kit tampering thing. Can't prosecute her because there's nothing on the books that actually covers this (she didn't tamper with actual evidence... duh. She's not under oath. She's not actually the one that went to the public with this... stupid lawyer /homer voice.)

I'm sure something else happened while I typed all that up.

[Giff]

I think you forgot the Swamp assuming that the rape kit story was 100% true.

[SportsDoc]

* Victim's attorney holds subsequent press conference announcing he can no longer represent the woman. Not because of the woman, but... because.

Well, the because is because of the woman's Mother.

[Nonlinear FC]

* Victim's attorney holds subsequent press conference announcing he can no longer represent the woman. Not because of the woman, but... because.

Well, the because is because of the woman's Mother.

Right, but at the time he made the announcement he was cryptic as fuck and it just added to the bizarre nature of the whole thing. But, yes, next morning we started hearing from the cops and DA and it was becoming clear it was a hoax.

[Steve of phpBB]

Dead.

http://www2.erie.gov/da/index.php?q=dis ... estigation#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The key investigative findings:

◾There are significant material inconsistencies between the complainant’s accounts and those of other witnesses.

◾The DNA results lend no corroboration whatsoever to the complainant’s claim of penetration, a required element of proof for a rape charge.

◾The physical evidence and the forensic evidence, when viewed in tandem, tend to contradict the complainant’s claim that she was raped on Kane’s bed.

◾Although Kane has exercised his constitutional right to remain silent (which prohibits questioning by law enforcement), he has made no known incriminating statements to any civilian, nor has he engaged in any conduct consistent with a consciousness of guilt.

I hope this exoneration doesn't affect his play on the ice. He's been lights out so far.

[Nonlinear FC]

That last bullet point, though? Cummongman.

[mister d]

Does that mean they also watched her for "how I'd probably react if I were raped" too?

[howard]

I'm no expert on criminal procedure, and please lawyers, correct me, but mes rea, Latin for 'guilty mind' is a legal element in the tradition of common law. It has largely been written out/precedented out of the American criminal code, or substituted by other concepts (like 'malice aforethought') because it becomes a slippery slope morass, but it probably is more prominent in other countries' legal systems.

[Steve of phpBB]

I'm no expert on criminal procedure, and please lawyers, correct me, but mes rea, Latin for 'guilty mind' is a legal element in the tradition of common law. It has largely been written out/precedented out of the American criminal code, or substituted by other concepts (like 'malice aforethought') because it becomes a slippery slope morass, but it probably is more prominent in other countries' legal systems.

Mens rea is still a big part of the criminal code, but that's not what the prosecutor is talking about.

Mens rea refers to the mental state necessary for conduct to be a crime. For example, when one person kills another, is it intentional, the result of recklessness, the result of negligence, or simply something that happened despite the actor not even being negligent. The same act can either be murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide, or nothing, depending on the actor's mental state.

What the prosecutor is talking about is consciousness of guilt. Like doing things that look like a coverup, working with his friends on a "story," trying to make a run for it in a white Ford Bronco, etc. If Kane had mysteriously disposed of all his bedding the morning after the alleged incident, that would be indirect evidence of guilt. The prosecutor is saying that Kane didn't do anything like that.

[howard]

See, I didn't even get the latin term right. I was going for evidence of 'consciousness of guilt'. I've encountered that in my civil legal work (after the fact alteration of the medical record will often be presented as evidence of consciousness or guilt.)

Thanks, steve.

[mister d]

And another allegation.

[sancarlos]

And another allegation.

Link?

[rass]

I guess I need to dive into twitter to find anything, huh? Hasn't bubbled up to Google News search level.

[rass]

And another allegation.

Link?

This?

[BSF21]