Sexual Assault
The Utah Supreme Court Rules That Sexual Assault Victims Cannot Be Forced to Testify at "Rape Shield" Hearings
The Court follows my argument that the purpose of a rape shield hearing is to ... well ... shield rape victims.
Black Student Expelled for Sexual Assault of White Classmate Seeks Pseudonymity Partly Because "Interracial Sexual Relationships …
between White women and Black men are the subject of heightened prejudice and violent responses that create a tangible risk of retaliation and animus against him."
The Sad Quest for a Secret 'Epstein Client List'
The Trump administration’s spectacle rehashed information that journalists, lawyers, and victims had already unveiled.
Pay Up, Trump
Plus: Biden's last-minute Ukraine cash surge, Tennessee age-verification law blocked, Kentucky man killed by cop who showed up at wrong house, and more…
Texas Cops Fired for 'Inappropriate' Sexual Contact With Massage Workers
As a result of the internal affairs investigation, three Lewisville officers were fired, one was demoted, and seven were suspended without pay.
New Anti-Trump Ads Highlight Sexual Assault Allegations, Portraying Him As an Admitted 'Serial Predator'
Although the Republican presidential nominee has denied those accusations, he has also bragged about strikingly similar behavior.
Review: Inside the Southern Baptist Sexual Assault Crisis
Author Christa Brown shares her story of abuse and exposes the hypocrisy inherent in the Southern Baptist Convention's cover-up.
Massachusetts Ex-Cop Charged With Strangling Pregnant Woman and Staging Her Death as a Suicide
Matthew Farwell allegedly murdered a 23-year-old woman who was pregnant with his child. Their relationship is said to have began when she was 15. He was 27.
Want To Catch Serial Killers Faster? Listen to Sex Workers.
The cases of Joey the Player and the Long Island Serial Killer show how systemic neglect and the failure to pass an immunity bill have left violent criminals on the loose for far too long.
Reason Wins 7 Southern California Journalism Awards
First-place finishes include an investigative piece on egregious misconduct in federal prison, a documentary on homelessness, best magazine columnist, and more.
Biden Notes Trump's History of 'Sexual Assault' but Highlights '34 Felonies' That Victimized No One
Facing an opponent who has been credibly described as a sexual predator, Biden instead emphasizes Trump's cover-up of a consensual encounter.
40 Percent of Police Officers Convicted of Child Sex Abuse Don't Get Prison Time, Investigation Finds
An analysis by The Washington Post found that nearly 1,800 police officers were arrested for child sex abuse-related crimes between 2005 and 2022.
Advocates Say the Justice Department Is Failing To Provide Relief to Women Who Were Abused in Prison
The Justice Department announced last year that it would expand a program to grant compassionate relief to federal inmates who've been sexually assaulted by staff.
Cop Who Dodged Sentence for Killing Sex Worker Gets 11 Years for Abducting More Sex Workers
The victims received no restitution payment.
Reason Is a Finalist for 14 Southern California Journalism Awards
Nominated stories include journalism on messy nutrition research, pickleball, government theft, homelessness, and more.
Minnesota's Indefinite Detention of Sex Offenders Is Ineffective As Well As Unjust
A new report argues that the notorious program squanders taxpayer money while keeping people imprisoned without justification or recourse.
Where Do Libertarians Stand on the Campus Wars?
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the magical thinking behind the economic ideas of Modern Monetary Theory.
The Court Was Right To Overturn Harvey Weinstein's Rape Conviction
The ruling has nothing to do with #MeToo. It is about ensuring a fair trial—a principle that applies no matter how unsympathetic the defendant.
New Title IX Rules Erase Campus Due Process Protections
The new rules allow students to be found guilty of assaulting a classmate without ever seeing the full evidence against them.
Trump Files Defamation Lawsuit Against ABC for Saying He Was Found Liable for Rape Instead of Sexual Assault
The defamation lawsuit is the latest in Trump's campaign of lawfare against media outlets, but all of those suits have failed so far.
Ohio Vice Cop Who Got Away With Killing Sex Worker Pleads Guilty in Kidnapping Case
Andrew Mitchell, who was acquitted on state murder charges in April, plead guilty this month to abducting and detaining two sex worker victims.
This Rape Victim Wants To End the Sex Offender Registry
"A lot of people on the registry are on there for consensual behavior, things I think many people agree shouldn’t be crimes," says Meaghan Ybos, the president of Women Against Registry.
Federal Prison Censors Reason Issue About How Federal Prison Employed Serial Rapists
The issue was rejected because it "jeopardizes the good order and security of the institution."
Campus Rape Story Was 'Bulletproof' Except for the Hoax, Says Rolling Stone Founder Jann Wenner
With journalistic standards like these...
Penis Squeezing Not Protected by Qualified Immunity
Plus: FIRE fights college's vague "greater good" policy, Biden administration pushes double talk on tariffs, and more...
If Lawyer Forces Client to Have Sex, When Can Law Firm Be Liable for Negligent Supervision?
"An attorney-client relationship between two adults does not present the same inherent danger or foreseeability" as "a relationship between an adult and a child in a religious organization."
8 Reasons Why E. Jean Carroll Won Her Sexual Abuse and Defamation Lawsuit Against Trump
It is not hard to see why the jury concluded that the incident she described probably happened.
The Buffalo Bills Cut Matt Araiza Over a Rape Accusation, but Key Evidence Vindicates Him
Prosecutors dropped the case after interviewing 35 witnesses who contradicted the accuser.
CDC Inflated Data About Teen Girls and Sexual Assault
Plus: Lack of independence could cause childhood mental health issues, Biden follows Trump playbook on TikTok, and more...
New Lawsuit Challenges New Jersey's Lifetime Child Abuse Registry
"Lifetime registries are wrong," said the plaintiff's attorney. "They're wrong based on the science and they're wrong based on the reality that risk is not static. It is dynamic."
How SCOTUS Promoted Pernicious Myths About Sex Offender Registries
Twenty years ago, the justices deemed registration nonpunitive, accepting unsubstantiated assumptions about its benefits and blithely dismissing its costs.
New Data Show Prison Staff Are Rarely Held Accountable for Sexual Misconduct
Prison staff were fired in less than half of substantiated incidents of sexual misconduct between 2016 and 2018, and only faced legal consequences in 6 percent of cases.
'The Hypocrisy Hurts': Enes Kanter Freedom on Standing Up to China in the NBA
"When it comes to problems happening in America, [the NBA is] the first organization saying, 'This is wrong,'" says the former professional basketball player. But then they're silent for victims of torture.
The Sixth Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing in Ohio State Title IX Case.
Judges on The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit disagree over when Title IX claims accrue.
Senate Investigation Finds Federal Prisons Fail to Prevent or Investigate Rapes
Long delays and management failures "allowed serious, repeated sexual abuse in at least four facilities to go undetected."
Woman Reports Rape to Pennsylvania Cops, Winds Up In Prison for Prostitution
Plus: International attitudes about Russia and China, court rules against book publishers merging, and more...
Biden Is Still Seeking Potential Life Sentences for Distributing Weed, Even As He Pardons for Possession
Pardoning possession offenders is nice. Taking his boot off the necks of cannabis sellers would be even better.
LAPD Officer Killed During Training Exercise Was Reportedly Investigating Cops Accused of Gang Rape
Plus: The Onion weighs in on qualified immunity case, Supreme Court rejects challenges to bump stock ban, and more...
Cops Fail To Protect Own Informant From Rape, Then Charge Her With a Drug Crime
Plus: The authoritarian convergence, inflation up and stocks down, and more...
'Night of Terror': Lawsuit Alleges Female Inmates Were Sexually Assaulted for Hours in Indiana Jail
The lawsuit claims that a correctional officer gave male inmates the key to women's housing after accepting a $1,000 bribe.
When Should an Appellate Court in a Criminal Case Describe a Victim as the "Alleged Victim"?
In a petition for reconsideration, I ask the Utah Supreme Court to modify a recent opinion to remove the qualifier "alleged" in front of term "victim" in light of the fact that the defendant has been convicted of sexually assaulting the victim.
The Utah Supreme Court Holds that Crime Victims Can Intervene in Criminal Cases to Protect Their Rights
The Court agrees with my argument that crime victims can become "limited-purpose parties" in criminal proceedings to protect their interests, such as an interest in the confidentiality of mental health counseling records.
This Title IX Bill Would Undermine Due Process Rights for New Jersey College Students
The "victim-centered" training required by S.B. 2469 would compromise the impartiality of Title IX investigations.
Lawsuit Against Kevin Spacey for Allegedly Touching Minor's "Intimate Parts" Can Proceed
Under N.Y. law, the court holds, a jury could find that the alleged touching could qualify as touching of "intimate parts," based on its context.
