Protecting the identities of victims?

[sgrizzle]

Tulsa World ran a story today about a man accused of incest. They left out the name of the woman who is listed as the victim but gave her age, his name, legal filing dates, etc so that her name was not that much of a secret. It was like when people play the game where they will give you hints or say "hot or cold" but still can technically say they didn't tell you.

I was able to find her name, address, and even her ebay id in under 3 minutes.

Do they care about privacy or just care about looking like they care about privacy?

[TeeDub]

You know better than that.

It is kinda like asking if warrantless wiretaps really ever had to go through FISA.

[cannon_fodder]

I have a mixed opinion on protecting the name of the ACCUSER.  While I understand and greatly respect the concept, in practice the rules can make life hell for the accused with little or no actual evidence.  Most of the crimes that entail protection for the victim are now set up as guilty until proven innocent, going so far as to disallow evidence, witnesses, and removing the right to publicly confront the accuser.

Again, I understand the reasoning behind the laws and I don't have a perfect answer.  But the pendulum has swung to the swung pretty far to the side of accusers right.  I used to think that everyone convicted of such crimes were surely guilty, having worked in the area a little but now I understand the deficit they have to overcome to prove their innocence (lets say, hypothetically, the accuser has accused 3 other men of rape and the DA ended up dropping the charges because she recanted and said she was just mad at them... one would think that is of importance).  

/a bit off topic.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

Tulsa World ran a story today about a man accused of incest. They left out the name of the woman who is listed as the victim but gave her age, his name, legal filing dates, etc so that her name was not that much of a secret. It was like when people play the game where they will give you hints or say "hot or cold" but still can technically say they didn't tell you.

I was able to find her name, address, and even her ebay id in under 3 minutes.

Do they care about privacy or just care about looking like they care about privacy?

Internet creeper, eh?

What smells funny about this case for those who didn't read this is that said victim had five or six children with this guy and JUST NOW turned him in.

[waterboy]

Are you familiar with the case in Germany of a man who did the same thing? He fathered his own grandchildren then started having relations with them. His daughter lived in a specially built basement apartment where she spent most of her life. His wife knew as well. He threatened all of them with murder if they failed to comply. They knew he was capable.

And we're the top of the food chain?

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

Are you familiar with the case in Germany of a man who did the same thing? He fathered his own grandchildren then started having relations with them. His daughter lived in a specially built basement apartment where she spent most of her life. His wife knew as well. He threatened all of them with murder if they failed to comply. They knew he was capable.

And we're the top of the food chain?

This woman had an out, she was even running an ebay business.

I heard bacteria was top of the food chain.