Police: 10 Witness Rape, Do Nothing
Minnesota Police Say Video Shows Neighbors Ignored Woman's Cries For More Than An Hour
-
(AP/CBS)
-
Interactive Sexual Assault Facts and statistics on sexual assault and rape, with victim resources.
The surveillance video clearly showed men and women looking out their apartment doors or starting to walk down the hallway before retreating as the woman was assaulted for nearly 90 minutes, police spokesman Tom Walsh said.
Police said they responded to a call of drunken behavior and found Somali immigrant Rage Ibrahim, 25, and a woman lying unconscious in the hallway early Tuesday. The woman's clothing had been pulled up and she had fresh scratches on her face and blood on her thigh, according to the criminal complaint.
Ibrahim says he is innocent and that the incident was a misunderstanding, according to Omar Jamal, the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, who spoke on Ibrahim's behalf.
Ibrahim was charged with several counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, prosecutors said.
Walsh said police were shocked by the behavior of the bystanders.
"(The video) shows one person looking out of her door probably three times," Walsh said. "It shows another person walking up, observing what's going on, then turning and putting up the hood of his sweatshirt."
At one point, the 26-year-old woman knocked on a door, yelling for the occupants to call police. A man inside that apartment told police he did not open the door or look out, but said he did call police — although they have no record of his call, according to court documents.
Minnesota law makes it a petty misdemeanor to not give reasonable help to a person in danger of "grave physical harm."
Walsh said it is unlikely police would pursue charges against witnesses in this case because authorities would have to show that witnesses knew the woman was in extreme danger.
Jamal said Ibrahim went into the hallway after the woman because he thought she was too drunk to drive. They struggled over car keys, and "he is saying there was a huge misunderstanding," Jamal said, adding that the police report does not show "the truth of what happened that night."
"He did not rape her," Jamal said.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- This is so tragic, it wouldnt matter if he was gonna kill her or was raping her, as human beings, when you hear someone screaming for help, for God''s Sake do something, if you are afraid, then CALL THE *** COPS, let them handle it......whats wrong with people today??? I mean i raised my kids with compassion and a heart, and i know if they had been there they would call the cops, my 6 year old grandaughter would have called them! you people are sick, an you all should be charged with neglect or whatever they can put on you!....i would be ashamed of myself if i were you........susan
- Reply to this comment
- Minnesota law makes it a petty misdemeanor to not give reasonable help to a person in danger of "grave physical harm."
These people had no idea if this woman was going to die, or was being beaten to death, or being attacked or raped or not, But it was their job as humans to give a person pleading for help the benefit of the doubt first, and ask questions later.
The police should have been called after the first person heard her cries for help.
I want those police to charge everyone that was on camera that failed to help.
What good is having the law, if they dont enforce it. - Reply to this comment
- I just can''t believe those witnesses!!! The bunch of worthless wusses!!! I know for a FACT that had I been there that animal would not have got past "1st. base" in his efforts. I been working hard for a good while. I''m not weak in strength or will, yet I have never cracked my throttle on anybody my whole life and hope I never do. One thing that I know for sure,.....My heart has a BIG 4 BARREL CARBURETOR and there aint nothing wrong with it......
- Reply to this comment
- A good part of the world is very poor, screwed up & awful. People want to leave their country & move to the USA. We will always have lots of foreigners here. We''re not going to wake up one day & find that Mexico, Central America & Africa
have great economies & the countries are doing well. Not in my lifetime anyway. - Reply to this comment
- Klingon69,
I don''''t have to site sources, its common sense.
Posted by mitch0927 at 05:26 PM : Aug 24, 2007
So, what you are saying is that you have no credibility, the pertentile you quoted was pulled from your arse and that you know nothing about this subject except what left-leaning liberals have said. Oh, the bad old gun. It kills people you know...get a life! - Reply to this comment
- I don''t know what is worse, Living in a society that needs laws to make people render aid to a person in risk of "grave physical harm" or having cops that chose not to enforce them! "because authorities would have to show that witnesses knew the woman was in extreme danger" Arrest them all and let them spend there life savings trying to prove themselves innocent!
- Reply to this comment
- What about last year''s RAPE of an 11 year old girl, by 10 Black Football Players in Fresno Califnornia, July 2006 ? We heard about if, briefly. But no one has been charged and the media, including CBS has let the story get buried. Because it is not PC, or fit the story line they line, but DUKE did.
So, I predict, the outrage of this story is also just a flash, and will soon be gone, as not fitting a the PC line we get all the time, all the time, all the time.. (1984 ?) - Reply to this comment
- Haven''''''''t you ever seen Jungle Fever, the Spike Lee joint? The cops could have gone in there and broke up a ''''''''cultural'''''''' ritual and been sued. Then where would we be?????
Posted by infidel_us at 11:37 AM : Aug 24, 2007
Yep... and part of the ''mating ritual was to knock on doors and scream for someone to call the police? You try too hard infidel. Perversions--they are not just for your views on the Iraq war anymore. - Reply to this comment
- How were we supposed to know it was rape? What if it was a ''''cultural'''' thing......like genital mutilation or dog fighting? Haven''''t you ever seen Jungle Fever, the Spike Lee joint? The cops could have gone in there and broke up a ''''cultural'''' ritual and been sued. Then where would we be?????
Posted by infidel_us at 11:37 AM : Aug 24, 2007
We''d be upholding our laws. Because last I heard, *** in public is illegal, even if both want it and people are not held to the laws of their former land when they move here, they are held to ours, if it is a cultural thing, then they better re-learn the rules of assimilation and adjust accordingly. After all, it is just one step from practicing one''s "culture" on a like member to practicing it on anyone in the society at large. How would you like a relative to experience Ibrahim and his culture? - Reply to this comment
- Jamal said Ibrahim went into the hallway after the woman because he thought she was too drunk to drive. They struggled over car keys, and "he is saying there was a huge misunderstanding," Jamal said, adding that the police report does not show "the truth of what happened that night."
"He did not rape her," Jamal said.
the camera obviously showed the man having *** with her, and that she did not want it. Her face showed scratches and damage and there was blood on her thigh. Maybe in Somalia it is necessary for penile penetration to take place in public to retreive car keys, but in America it is called rape. Somebody should let Jamal and his client--Ibrahim know this and punish them accordingly. - Reply to this comment
- Evidently, people are still ignoring it.
- Reply to this comment
- If you won''t protect yourself, who will?
Self Defense
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com - Reply to this comment
- What''s the matter gkc99? Don''t want to play no more?
- Reply to this comment
- usmcvn and liberalameri
Thank YOU for YOUR support!
I think that you should move here. You would have a much better life. usmcvn, you could live with your relatives! - Reply to this comment
- "Ibrahim says he is innocent and that the incident was a misunderstanding, according to Omar Jamal, the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, who spoke on Ibrahim''s behalf."
Ibrahim should be castrated.
- Reply to this comment
- gkc99
I bet not only your brain is puny but you have a wee little prick as well! - Reply to this comment
- gkc99
In fact I bet there would be a good many that would probably come over to our side. They could fight with us and get rid of all the scum and then go back home and have a great country to live in. They could start anew. - Reply to this comment
- gkc99
What the hell are you talking about? I am going to start calling you ToolMangler if you don''t watch out.
And actually it is you that is the racist. We have all different cultures here. And we don''t just TOLERATE them. This is everyones HOME.
What province is it that you think that I am from?
Yeah I bet there would be quite a few people that would want to come to Canada if a poll was taken in your country! - Reply to this comment
- agnim types whatever the voices in his head tell him to.
There are some things that Canada has that I wish we had here in USA.
Maybe all women should carry guns in their bras & handbags. - Reply to this comment
- gkc99
You could do a province to province vote and I could guarantee that no Canadian in there right mind would join the U.S. in the state that it is in now. It would be like going backwards. We all have great healthcare, clean and well managed hospitals. No one here is dying from lack of care. We aren''t being scammed for our medications. Our WHOLE country isn''t corrupt. Our government isn''t RULING over us like a dictator. I am sorry to say that we see you as sad and pathetic. The U.S. needs to kick out people like you. (Only don''t send them our way, please) - Reply to this comment
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."




