Rape charges dropped
Kelly Truong and Tamara Hahn
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
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.
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.
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