AP: Man sent to prison for raping his wife

[question everything]

Man sent to prison for raping his wife

October 16, 2005

STOCKTON – A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to nearly 65 years in prison for kidnapping and raping his wife.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox said Friday that Andrew Wright Gill gagged and hog-tied his wife before raping her after she asked him to leave during an hours-long incident last year. Gill was convicted July 27 of 10 charges.

The wife, who initially said she was raped but later said the incident was consensual, shook as she read a statement in court asking for leniency for her husband. She called Gill an attentive father and active church member who was depressed because he was unemployed.

Gill said the trial amounted to the state's attempt to regulate the couple's sex life and promised he would appeal.

Associated Press


Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051016/news_1n16region.html

[roguevalley]

1. good grief. good.

[Zenlitened]

2. Disturbing on SO MANY levels...

:scared:

[Maddy McCall]

3. GOOD.

As a former battered wife, I understand why she attempted to mitigate the charges against her husband. I'm glad the state stepped up and showed this bastard, and other assholes like him, that such violence against women, married or not, will not be tolerated.

His response, about the state attempting to regulate the couple's sex life, can be translated to mean, "No one tells me how to treat my woman." She's not his possession, as much has he'd like to believe she is.

[xultar]

4. A-FUCKIN-GREED....He fucker needed to go to jail and that is where

he is headed. He shoulda thought about that before he attacked his wife.

Just cuz you're married to someone doesn't mean you can force them to have sex against their will.

[noahmijo]

33. Well guess what? maybe with any luck he'll become the bride of

"Big Spider" or "Tiny"

Or better yet pick your favorite Oz character :)

[question everything]

6. Glad that you are "former"

that you've got hold of your life

Back to the story.. I suppose he would feel the same about his children and his dog.

[The Doctor.]

-Devil's Advocate warning-

What if it originally was a consensual engagement, after which she took advantage of the opportunity to loose unrelated angst upon him and her retraction is true repentance?

Let's face it, women have a great deal of power in this society if they shout 'rape'.
As a male-centric society, men who are accused by a woman are guilty until proven so. The other men respond to a woman's cry for help by 'neutralizing' the male 'offender'.
This response is based on the very hardwired male urge to eliminate competition for females.
10,000 years of civilization does not undo ten million years of evolution.

But if he is such an asshole, I hope he suffers a great deal and never bothers a female again.

[question everything]

11. Obviously they convicted him based on more than just

"he said" "she said." At the end she did not deny it, only tried to justify it that he was depressed and unemployed.

This is something that I have never understood. If a man is depressed or angry or frustrated - why does he have to take it on a woman?

[The Doctor.]

13. One word...

'Asshole'

[SupplyConcerns]

20. Men are convicted for "he said, she said" all the time

I have heard of local, unpublicized cases of it.

[Maddy McCall]

21. Bullshit.

[SupplyConcerns]

30. One case that my friend sat in on in Seattle

It took place at a college party. They both claim that they had sex, they had both been drinking. People saw them go into the room together, consentually, seeming in good spirits. She claims she was raped. He claims they had consentual sex (and it really seemed he truly believed it had been). There was no evidence one way or the other - it only came down to her word against his. And he was convicted and sentenced to around ten years.

[Maddy McCall]

32. Why would a woman put herself in the place to be a public spectacle...

by faking a rape charge? Can you explain that to me?

We aren't the frail, fickle creatures that many people with your opinion of rape would have us believe.

[SupplyConcerns]

39. No need to get personal

You're assuming a lot here about my attitudes towards women and rape. God forbid that I point out that I know of cases where men indeed have had their lives ruined on the basis of "he said/she said". Like I said before, the guy at least did seem to believe it was consentual. When two (not one, two) intoxicated people enter a bedroom together, that kind of thing can happen. It's tragic, and don't shoot the messenger for pointing out that complexity.

[The Doctor.]

43. The accusers are afforded anomymity. They don't have to go public.

[Krupskaya]

17. And the color of your sky would be...

Men rush to aid women?

Have you ever, ever tried to report a rape?

Your opinions are wrong. Please don't pass them off as fact.

[The Doctor.]

42. My opinions are not 'fact', and neither are they 'wrong'.

This is a case of 20% to 40% ruining things for the other 60% to 80%.

Women lie, men suffer.

Yes, I know... men lie too and people suffer, but my point was simple-

This could be a case of a woman taking advantage of the flaws in a male dominated society.

I didn't say she lied. I posed the possibility and found some people here had an irrational response.

And I am absolutely correct that men are evolutionarily 'hard-wired' to reduce competition for females... which you might agree with unless you are a Creationist, of course.
It is because of society that men have found alternatives to murder to secure a breeding partner. (In most cases)

Women have falsely accused men of rape for a very long time. The results have ranged from social exile to execution. I consider that it is men who are more likely to exact lethal judgment due both to a tendency toward simple aggressive nature, and to the hardwired trait of protecting the bearers of offspring. It's Evolution, it works.

If you don't believe that this happens, then you can ask Quinten;
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006D988.htm

Jeff;
http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/grenada/776/news.htm

Charles;
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4260/is_200508/ai_n15147963

and Todd;
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/09/23/news/local/news04.txt
"Heib was arrested two days after the allegations were first made, and a grand jury indicted him for aiding and abetting rape and kidnapping.
He spent 86 days in jail, where another prisoner severely beat him. He was put in isolation to protect him from other prisoners who believed he was a sexual pervert, and he had to wear a bulletproof vest to a court appearance because of death threats.
Heib also lost his job, his vehicle and his home.
One of the girls later admitted that the accusations were made up."

So how might you explain this?
People accused of robbery, assault, even murdering a man are not treated so badly until proven guilty... and often not even then.

What I'm saying is simple - women lie about rape, that is a fact. The question then is how does the male dominated society treat the accused?

It was not until the advent of the polygraph and DNA testing that we found out that up to half of reported rapes are false.

Sure, there have been many chauvinists throughout the ages who would not even listen, but what do you think happened to all those poor accused schleps before the 20th century?

If you don't believe these things happen, then it is the color of the sky in your world that is in question.

[Maddy McCall]

28. I hope to god that you aren't an anthropology professor.

Your "devil's advocacy" assertion is bullshit, and you know it. You post a disclaimer, and then post your vile opinion. I hope that everyone can see through your post.

[The Doctor.]

40. Here's your anthropologist;

False Rape Allegations
Eugene J. Kanin, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University, 1365 Winthrop E. Stone Hall, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1365.

This article was posted by Gerry Harbison -- [e-mail]. The comments in square brackets are his.


ABSTRACT:
With the cooperation of the police agency of a small metropolitan community, 45 consecutive, disposed, false rape allegations covering a 9 year period were studied. These false rape allegations constitute 41% the total forcible rape cases (n= 109) reported during this period. These false allegations appear to serve three major functions for the complainants: providing an alibi, seeking revenge, and obtaining sympathy and attention. False rape allegations are not the consequence of a gender-linked aberration, as frequently claimed, but reflect impulsive and desperate efforts to cope with personal and social stress situations.

INTRODUCTION


Currently, the two main identifiable adversaries involved in the false rape allegations controversy are the feminists and the police. The feminists are by far the most expressive and prominent on this issue. Some feminists take the position that the declaration of rape as false or unfounded largely means that the police do not believe the complainant; that is, the rape charges are real reflections of criminal assault, but the agents of the criminal justice system do not believe them (Brownmiller, 1975; Russell, 1984). Some feminists virtually deny the existence of false rape accusations and believe the concept itself constitutes discriminatory harassment toward women (see Grano, 1990). On the other hand, police are prone to say the reason for not believing some rape complainants resides in the fact that the rapes never occurred (Payton, 1967; Wilson, 1978; Jay, 1991). Medical Examiners lend support to this police position by emphasizing the ever-present possibility that rape complainants may be lying (Shill, 1969, 1971).

METHODS



This investigation is essentially a case study of one police agency in a small metropolitan area (population = 70,000) in the Midwestern United States. This city was targeted for study because it offered an almost model laboratory for studying false rape allegations. First, its police agency is not inundated with serious felony cases and, therefore, has the freedom and the motivation to record and thoroughly pursue all rape complaints. In fact, agency policy forbids police officers to use their discretion in deciding whether to officially acknowledge a rape complaint, regardless how suspect that complaint may be. Second, the declaration of a false allegation follows a highly institutionalized procedure. The investigation of all rape complaints always involves a serious offer to polygraph the complainants and the suspects. Additionally, for a declaration of false charge to be made, the complainant must admit that no rape had occurred. She is the sole agent who can say that the rape charge is false. The police department will not declare a rape charge as false when the complainant, for whatever reason, fails to pursue the charge or cooperate on the case, regardless how much doubt the police may have regarding the validity of the charge.

In short, these cases are declared false only because the complainant admitted they are false. Furthermore, only one person is then empowered to enter into the records a formal declaration that the charge is false, the officer in charge of records. Last, it should be noted that this department does not confuse reported rape attempts with completed rapes. Thus, the rape complainants referred to in this paper are for completed forcible rapes only. The foregoing leaves us with a certain confidence that cases declared false by this police agency are indeed a reasonable- if not a minimal reflection of false rape allegations made to this agency, especially when one considers that a finding of false allegation is totally dependent upon the recantation of the rape charge.

We followed and investigated all false rape allegations from 1978 to 1987. A ranking police official notified us whenever a rape charge was declared false and provided us with the records of the case. In addition, the investigating officers provided any requested supplementary information so that we could be confident of the validity of the false rape allegation declarations.

FINDINGS



Regarding this study, 41% (n= 45) of the total disposed rape cases (n= 109) were officially declared false during this 9-year period, that is, by the complainant's admission that no rape had occurred and the charge, therefore, was false. The incidence figure was variable from year to year and ranged from a low of 27% (3 out of Il cases) to a high of 70% (7 out of 10 cases). The 9-year period suggests no trends, and no explanation has been made for the year-to-year fluctuation.



The study of these 45 cases of false rape allegations inexorably led to the conclusion that these false charges were able to serve three major functions for the complainants: providing an alibi, a means of gaining revenge, and a platform for seeking attention/sympathy. This tripartite model resulted from the complainants' own verbalizations during recantation and does not constitute conjecture. Of course, we are not asserting that these functions are mutually exclusive or exhaustive; rather, these rape recantations focused on a single factor explanation. A possible objection to these recantations concerns their validity. Rape recantations could be the result of the complainants' desire to avoid a "second assault" at the hands of the police. Rather than proceed with the real charge of rape, the argument goes, these women withdrew their accusations to avoid the trauma of police investigation.

Several responses are possible to this type of criticism. First, with very few exceptions, these complainants were suspect at the time of the complaint or within a day or two after charging. These recantations did not follow prolonged periods of investigation and interrogation that would constitute anything approximating a second assault. Second, not one of the detectives believed that an incident of false recantation had occurred. They argued, rather convincingly, that in those cases where a suspect was identified and interrogated, the facts of the recantation dovetailed with the suspect's own defense. Last, the policy of this police agency is to apply a statute regarding the false reporting of a felony. After the recant, the complainant is informed that she will be charged with filing a false complaint, punishable by a substantial fine and a jail sentence. In no case, has an effort been made on the part of the complainant to retract the recantation. Although we certainly do not deny the possibility of false recantations, no evidence supports such an interpretation for these cases.



RELATED FINDINGS



In addition to the foregoing, certain other findings and observations relevant to false allegations warrant comment. First, false allegations failed to include accusations of forced sexual acts other than penile-vaginal intercourse. Not one complainant mentions forced oral or anal sex. In contrast, these acts were included in approximately 25% of the rounded forcible rape complaints. Perhaps it was simply psychologically and socially more prudent for these women to minimize the humiliation of sexual victimization by not embroidering the event any more than necessary. This phenomenon has been observed previously (McDowell and Hibler, 1987).



One of the most haunting and serious implications of false rape allegations concerns the possibility of miscarried justice. We know that false convictions occur, but this study only tells us that these false accusers were weeded out during the very early stages of investigation. However encouraging this result may be, we cannot claim that false charging does not incur suffering for the accused. Merely to be a rape suspect, even for a day or two, translates into psychological and social trauma.

CONCLUSIONS



We may well be faced with the fact that the most efficient police departments report the higher incidence of false rape allegations. In view of these factors, perhaps the most prudent summary statement that is appropriate from these data is that false rape accusations are not uncommon. Since this effort is the first at a systematic, long-term, on-site investigation of false rape allegations from a single city, future studies in other cities, with comparable policies, must assess the representativeness of these findings.

ADDENDA



Quite unexpectedly then, we find that these university women, when filing a rape complaint, were as likely to file a false as a valid charge. Other reports from university police agencies support these findings (Jay, 1991). In both police agencies, the taking of the complaint and the follow-up investigation was the exclusive responsibility of a ranking female officer. Neither agency employed the polygraph and neither declared the complaint false without a recantation of the charge.



http://www.menweb.org/throop/falsereport/kanin.html

[The Doctor.]

41. Now please explain...

what is 'vile' about my opinion other than you don't believe women ever lie about rape?

[99Pancakes]

29. Honestly, doctor...

Don't you think there must have been some pretty strong evidence if they decided to lock him away for so long? I'll bet there were already many police reports on him. My sister was a battered wife for years. There is a cycle: abuse/remorse/abuse remorse....on and on. It's all well-researched. Battered women have been studied and this cycle continues until either the darling hubby gets jail time and is forced into therapy, or the woman leaves (and goes into therapy herself). Many times, after the violence, the woman "forgives" and tries to justify the perp's behavior. It's a sickness.

[Triana]

34. Exactly What 99Pancakes said...

...and I'm glad he's in prison and I hope he stays there. Unemployment and depression is no excuse to abuse your spouse - period. HE has a problem and so does SHE. They both need help and he needs to be where he can't hurt anyone else while she needs to be where she learns not to put up with it when anyone tries, no matter what the circumstances.

[The Doctor.]

44. You are likely correct about the 'strong evidence'

And you are absolutely correct about the psychology of battered women.

But we are not so sure what evidence the jury was presented with.

[IndyJones]

36. A jury of his peers didn't buy that it was consentual, so it wasn't just

a man vs woman he said/she said kind of story.

I suppose you would play devil's advocate for Scott Peterson, too? Gosh, those poor men being accused of hurting their wives.

FTR, I've never seen power in a woman crying "rape". It's usually with shame and a lot of tears.

[benburch]

5. Good.

This was not their "sex life", this was assault.

[KitSileya]

18. yeah.

This was about as much about sex as a punch in the face that loses you a couple of teeth is a caress.

[WindRavenX]

35. RAPE is NOT about sex

It's about power.

[Solly Mack]

7. Good!

applauding loudly

[BlueIris]

8. Never thought I'd see the day. THANKS FOR KNOWING THE LAW,

California.

[sandnsea]

37. Sadly, not the law everywhere

Tennessee Guerilla Women are sounding the alarm on an issue that ought to horrify every man and woman in this country. After all these years, we STILL have states that do not treat the rape of a wife the same as the rape of every other woman.

For the tenth year in a row, legislation has been introduced to remove the spousal exemption and provide equal penalties. If a man rapes his wife, he is only guilty of a crime if he "uses a weapon, causes her serious bodily injury, or they are separated or divorcing." To make matters worse, "If he held a knife to throat or beat her to a pulp while he did it, he could be looking at up to 15 years in prison. If he did the same thing to someone he never met before or even his girlfriend, he would face up to 60 years behind bars."

Tennessee isn’t the only state with such archaic laws. In Arizona, the punishment for spousal rape is 1 ½ years. That law is being tested by prosecutors who have filed kidnapping and traditional rape charges in a case where a woman was attacked by her husband, “who choked her, dragged her by the hair and raped her so many times before the sun came up that she lost count, police say.”

In Texas, a serial rapist of wives and girlfriends was actually given a $10,000 fine and probation!! His first rape charge, that was later dropped, occurred while he was in college. The second, also testified to at trial, was to a woman who later found out that her marriage was never recorded and that he was still married to someone else. The third rape was to another wife and the one that he was finally “convicted” of. He is now married again and lives in Milwaukee. He is 26. Free on probation.

Perhaps this is the kind of case that Tennessee Rep. Frank Buck worries about when he talks of innocent men being wrongly charged by lying, conniving women. Yes, that is the concern of the Democratic Representative who has four daughters. The difficulty of proving a rape case in court escapes him. For others, the concern is the $100,000 a year it is projected to cost to imprison these pillars of the community.

Tennessee Guerilla Women want to “shine a little national embarrassment” on their esteemed legislature, made up of 83% men. They would like us to contact Keith Olbermann and ask him to invite Frank Buck to come on his show and defend his position. Don’t forget to send Mr. Buck a little chastisement too. Be sure and tell him that we womenfolk are ever so grateful for such a strong, virile protector.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/?view=plink&id=900

[BlueIris]

38. Sadly, I knew about that info (I was hoping someone would post it).

It's good you did. SOME posters in this thread need the education.

[Breeze54]

9. What a f**kin' PIG!!

These assh*les need to be JAILED!!
Mutha-fucka's!!
GOOD RIDDENCE!!
She's scared because his 'friends' will 'get' her
for ratting him out!!
Wait and watch!
She's IN DANGER!!
She needs PROTECTION...Witness Protection!!

This is NOT a joke or just a 'family' problem!!

This guy is a psycho and I'll bet he's got 'back-up'...
His 'friend's' WILL get her!!

The LAWS need to be UPDATED!!

gheezzzzzz!

[depakid]

10. 10 charges? 65 years?

Hmmm.

Something tells me that there's more to this story.

[Redstone]

12. That asshole doesn't get it. Rape doesn't have ANYTHING to do with sex.

It only has to do with power.

Yes, it's possible to rape your wife, for those of you who have any doubts. The wife's asking for leniency stirks me as a textbook example of battered-wife syndrome.

I'm not going to comment anymore on this, because I'll lose my temper.

Redstone

[bobbieinok]

23. ca 12 years ago OK legislator said it was impossible for a man to rape

his wife

[Bluerthanblue]

27. so do many 'fundementalist churches'

today- right now in 2005.

i never knew it was a crime. many women don't.
especially those who come from families that are out of control.

[Bluerthanblue]

25. you speak

profound truth.

thank you-
you obviously understand.

[wiley]

14. I wonder if she was also threatened by his family

or even kids if she didn't read the plea for leniency. I really hope the radical right takes up this guy's case and tries to make it about sex, as opposed to the violent kidnapping and rape of a person who clearly asked him to get out.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[uppityperson]

16. Good.

a crime is a crime, even if the victim doesn't want to prosecute. Hope she gets the help she needs to figure herself out better now.

[donheld]

19. No sympathy here

Sounds like he got what he deserved.

[progressivebydesign]

22. I'm most disturbed that this woman recanted...

.. when it was obvious she WAS hog-tied. Given that she said he was an active church member, I can only imagine what screwed up rationale she dreamed up to want him out of jail, probably counseled by some do-gooder church type. Sad, because if he somehow gets out, next time he'll probably succeed in killing her. Just depressed.. geez. I guess it's okay to hog tie and rape someone if you're sad about being unemployed.. as long as you go to church.

[Maddy McCall]

26. She suffers from Battered Wife Syndrome.

This is a pattern for her. Maybe with hubby in jail, she will begin to get the help she needs.

By the way, it was a Baptist preacher in Texas who encouraged me to LEAVE my husband.

Don't go jumping to conclusions.

[fishwax]

24. Good fucking riddance

:grr:

[shockingelk]

31. This would not have happened three decades ago

There was no such thing as raping one's wife.

NY was the first to make raping your wife illegal - in 1975 I recall.

Most other states quickly followed suit.