Troopers: A report on alleged sexual assault & problematic behavior by MAASIN

[skevinp]

16 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Not to mention.... “well if she hadn’t dressed like that...” or “well what did she do to provoke it” IOW blaming the victim which kept a lot of abuse victims quiet BITD.

And yes folks I used “she” as an example

And in addition to those kinds of direct and overt examples, there are more that are subtle and occur beneath the surface.  The repercussions can be complex and can last a lifetime.

[Terri Schehr]

18 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Not to mention.... “well if she hadn’t dressed like that...” or “well what did she do to provoke it” IOW blaming the victim which kept a lot of abuse victims quiet BITD.

And yes folks I used “she” as an example

 

Or the case where an assault victim goes to the police, a person is indicted, and then their attorney has private investigators stalking them trying to dig up dirt on their past.  I can see why survivors throw their hands into the air and regret ever saying anything. 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Terri Schehr

[Terri Schehr]

1 hour ago, Terri Schehr said:

Or the case where an assault victim goes to the police, a person is indicted, and then their attorney has private investigators stalking them trying to dig up dirt on their past.  I can see why survivors throw their hands into the air and regret ever saying anything. 

Drum corps people have VERY short memories.  In reference to the Morgan Larson, Robyn Schroeder case in the  article “A Failure to Protect”...I had men in drum corps tell me in 2012 that “she wanted it” and “you don’t know how this girl is”.   I’d love to hear them deny it now.  A girl who is 13, 14, or 15 doesn’t know what she wants, and when there are problems on the homefront, may just want attention.  Any kind of attention.

I don’t trust any of these people to protect the members.  Change my mind.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/a/drum-corp-international-sexual-assault-misconduct-mike-stevens-george-hopkins-cadets-20181213.html

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Terri Schehr

[DCIat14]

On 1/28/2021 at 12:13 PM, denverjohn said:

Who are "THE POLICE" when a moving caravan/community is in a different state/county/city every other day? Who, where, when does said reporting occur?

Where-ever and whenever the alleged assault occurred.  There is usually a runner van & it should be handled immediately.  

[JimF-LowBari]

44 minutes ago, DCIat14 said:

Where-ever and whenever the alleged assault occurred.  There is usually a runner van & it should be handled immediately.  

Said it before but if PA had dropped the ball with Jerry Sandusky of Penn State then TX was going after him. Issue was minor with him in hotel room at Alamo Bowl. That always reminds me of who has jurisdiction in incidents 

Edited January 29, 2021 by JimF-LowBari

[IllianaLancerContra]

54 minutes ago, DCIat14 said:

Where-ever and whenever the alleged assault occurred.  There is usually a runner van & it should be handled immediately.  

Pretty sure all the police have the same phone number.

[IllianaLancerContra]

11 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Said it before but if PA had dropped the ball with Jerry Sandusky of Penn State then TX was going after him. Issue was minor with him in hotel room at Alamo Bowl. That always reminds me of who has jurisdiction in incidents 

I won the internet one day thanks to Sandusky.  When he was convicted I posted a comment under article that 'he is going from Penn State to State Penn' & got 2k thumbs ups

[Terri Schehr]

10 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Pretty sure all the police have the same phone number.

911 works everywhere in the US, I believe. 

[JimF-LowBari]

1 hour ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

I won the internet one day thanks to Sandusky.  When he was convicted I posted a comment under article that 'he is going from Penn State to State Penn' & got 2k thumbs ups

Forgot exact number but 4 charges were dropped before trial and they found him guilty on all but 4 of the 40 or so charges left. When to bed before it was announced but checked when I got up. Woke up my wife with YESSSS!!

[denverjohn]

23 hours ago, rjohn76 said:

I was going to mention something to this effect last night because it's a valid concern.  You're not talking about a school or camp facility in a fixed location where you have a pre-determined agency or agencies to report to.  You're talking about traveling groups that can literally cross countless geographic/governmental jurisdictions in the course of one day/night.

Following the guidelines in most states, the person obligated to report should notify the primary law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction that they're in when they first suspect or become aware that an assault may have occurred.  With very few exceptions, all law enforcement agencies are required to accept such reports.

Once the report is submitted to the law enforcement agency that has immediate jurisdiction, it becomes their responsibility to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine the "w's" (who, what, where, when, etc...).  If they determine that an assault occurred within their jurisdiction, the investigation continues under their oversight (or the proper agency within their jurisdiction).  However, if they determined the assault may have occurred in a different jurisdiction, they are obligated to refer the report to the appropriate investigating agency.  Usually there's a timeframe in which this referral should occur.  This timeline can range from "immediate" to a set period of days depending on jurisdiction.  That's where things sometimes fall off the rails.  If they're unable to determine the correct investigative agency, the report may literally go nowhere.  Or it may get passed off to an understaffed/backlogged state level agency that won't touch it for days, weeks... or maybe longer.  

While all of that's going on... it's important to think about what's happening at the corps.  

Is the mandatory reporter also obligated to submit the incident to the corps for review & proper handling?

What is the corps' process for handling this type of situation if they do become aware of it?

What if the incident involves a person of authority that can influence the process?

What happens when law enforcement starts to poke around?  Despite what's portrayed in some of the cop shows on TV, most law enforcement agencies will move forward in a discrete manner while conducting their investigation.  This may mean discrete visits to the housing site where the corps is staying, or asking the victim, alleged suspect and any witnesses to come to the agency's station to give their statements.  

Is the corps prepared to support this type of law enforcement intervention without the benefit of knowing exactly what is happening (which is entirely possible if the mandatory reporter didn't notify the corps).

Are the victim and alleged suspect still continuing on tour? 

Does the fact that they were interviewed by the police for an undisclosed matter change that decision?

What happens if the corps is scheduled to travel to the next destination three states away?  This isn't a Law & Order crossover event where detectives/investigators jump on a plane or travel on a dime.  The corps pulling out of town could inadvertently delay or even cause the investigation to be suspended if key person(s) are not reasonably available.

Is the corps prepared to delay/cancel travel to facilitate an investigation?

What are members going to be told?

What's the public message going to be when corps XYZ failed to arrive & perform as scheduled at the next show?

TLDR - It's more complex than just handing off to law enforcement.  Detailed thought needs to be put into how the corps will handle these types of situations, and it needs to take into account every aspect of things from the victim on outwards.

Thank you. Those were some of the issues that I pondered but was reluctant to get in the weeds over. Also consider the fact that "age of consent" varies from state to state as this community migrates across state lines.