Conor Oberst files libel lawsuit over rape claim

[alp227]

Source: AP

Conor Oberst filed a lawsuit on Wednesday claiming he was libeled by a woman who wrote in online posts that she was sexually assaulted by the singer-songwriter.

An attorney for Oberst filed the civil lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court. The suit claims the woman behind the accusations was a liar who made "despicable, false, outrageous, and defamatory statements" about Oberst last December.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted.

Oberst's lawsuit says the woman posted accusations that Oberst raped her a decade ago in North Carolina after his brother, her middle school English teacher, introduced the two at an Oberst show. The lawsuit says she also claimed she was 16 at the time.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/conor-oberst-files-libel-lawsuit-over-rape-claim

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That's what's so FRUSTRATING about witnessless crimes like rape. The painful truth that it's VERY hard to prove or disprove that a rape happened just proves true this statement by magician Paul Daniels: "Anyone can come along and claim to have been ‘abused’ by anyone they care to name." Oberst might have a case if the accuser never even notified the police about this incident.

This article by the Frisky presents a case why the accuser should be believed.

[cosmicone]

1. Women who falsely claim to have been raped

for monetary gain do a major disservice to women who have actually been raped.

[Android3.14]

2. This just shows how rare is a false accusation of rape.

How often does the inverse (a woman's claim of rape was true) make the AP? False accusation is freakishly rare.

[alp227]

3. AP covers plenty of real rape cases nt

[Android3.14]

5. No

Rape is, unfortunately, far too common for the AP to write about individual rape cases, except when it involves another element such as wealth or fame.
90,000 plus rapes each year in the U.S alone. What percentage of that does the AP cover?

[djg21]

12. And how do you know this?

Last edited Sun Mar 2, 2014, 11:13 AM - Edit history (1)

The media reports stories that are sensational and are likely attract readers, viewers, etc. Do you think the media would report this story at all were Conor Oberest not somewhat famous? If this was some random joe blow (perhaps falsely) accused of raping a random woman at a bar, do you think it would garner any media coverage at all?

And as much as it looks bad for the accuser here based on what the media is reporting (which is based entirely on the allegations made by Oberest in the Complaint filed to commence his lawsuit), you weren't there and cannot say whether or not there was a rape, or consensual sex, or any physical conduct whatsoever.

The conclusion you propose is a complete non sequitur.

[nomorenomore08]

4. Believing the accuser is usually simple common sense, based on the law of averages.

If 5% of accusations - or even less - are false, then there you go...

[Android3.14]

6. Believe?

Certainly we should take any accusation seriously. But, with 2-8 percent being false accusations, there must be proof. Just flat out believing would condemn thousands of innocent people to prison each year. The sad part is that by requiring proof, we also leave tens of thousands more victims (women and men) without justice.

[nomorenomore08]

7. I meant in terms of personal opinion. Not legal opinion.

Of course "innocent until proven guilty" must be the standard, no matter what. Anything else leaves far too much room for compounded injustice.

[Android3.14]

8. Yup

Have a great day.

[Democat]

9. Woody Allen's case gets thousands of comments

Conor Oberst actually filed a lawsuit against his accuser and this one is ignored here on DU.

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Because who is Conor Oberst?

[LiberalAndProud]

10. The story has been corrected.

In a story Feb. 19 about Conor Oberst suing a woman who claimed the singer sexually assaulted her, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the woman accused Oberst of punching her in the face. The woman did not accuse Oberst of punching her in the face.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Conor Oberst files libel lawsuit over rape claim

Singer-songwriter Conor Oberst files lawsuit saying he was libeled by rape claim

Who knows who's to be believed? It does make me wonder about the reaction of her family and friends.

[Threedifferentones]

13. I must say Bright Eyes made one of my favorite albums evah...I'm Wide Awake It's Morning.

Thanks to his relative fame and success Oberst probably has much more money than this woman. I assume this lawsuit is not about winning money as much as attempting to clear his name, to show everyone that he is not afraid to discuss the details of this case in court. Of course we will never know if he did it or not, a decade after the fact there would be no evidence to convict even if he raped her.