Um, is this legal?

Senusret I · #1 08-18-2008, 05:32 PM

So I saw that my friend joined a Facebook group called:

Warning against rapist [guy's name]

So I was like wow, what a sick joke...I clicked on the group and saw that this was the description:

Quote:

Hello. This group is to warn and protect women against the known rapist ______ a.k.a ________. He has assaulted me, and many other girls at [university]. A current investigation is going on, and unfortunately at this time, the police do not have enough evidence to put him behind bars, yet. This is a very real fact, and I hope you take this into consideration for yourself, and your female friends for whom you care about. I highly encourage you send this to as many people as possible, especially freshman, they are most at risk seeing as he preys on people's trust who do not know him. This is not revenge or malice, this is protecting our community. If you have any questions please contact me, or if you have similair reports. Together we can make this town safer. Thank you

In the group's profile was the guy's picture.

I had an immediate reaction to this.

What's your take?

KappaKittyCat · #2 08-18-2008, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senusret I

So I saw that my friend joined a Facebook group called:

Warning against rapist [guy's name]

So I was like wow, what a sick joke...I clicked on the group and saw that this was the description:In the group's profile was the guy's picture.

I had an immediate reaction to this.

What's your take?

Well, it's not illegal. It's a little ethically questionable. Maybe the sexual assault in question is a he-said-she-said issue with no evidence and the alleged victim is trying to spread the word/drum up some sympathy/get justice the only way she knows how.

Seriously, it sounds like something straight out of Law & Order: SVU.

phimu88 · #3 08-18-2008, 05:39 PM

I dont know if it is legal or not
but it sounds like slander to me if he hasnt been convicted. My sister is the atty in my family, so what do I know??
If he really did those things than good fo her and I hope she doesnt get in trouble!

Senusret I · #4 08-18-2008, 05:43 PM

Yeah..... it just seems a little.... I dunno....

I don't think I would join such a group, but over one hundred people have already.

#5 08-18-2008, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Yeah..... it just seems a little.... I dunno....

I don't think I would join such a group, but over one hundred people have already.

Well, if I'm looking at the same Facebook group, it seems that someone's already brought up libel and slander:

Quote:

Libel/slander are civil matters, and most likely wouldn't appear as charges in a criminal court proceeding.

It still may impact the criminal trial, as they can claim that the jury pool is tainted, ect. So be careful with whatever you choose to do, give a worm like that an opening and he'll do his best to slip through it.

Senusret I · #6 08-18-2008, 05:56 PM

^^^ Yeah, same group.

Senusret I · #7 08-18-2008, 06:05 PM

^^^ You have too much sense.

It's sad that my first instinct was to come post about it on GC.

christiangirl · #8 08-18-2008, 10:17 PM

In answer to your question, that's definitely not illegal...unless it's untrue. If it's true, then the First Amendment could protect the group creator's right to publish that information. If it's not, then it becomes slander which is a subcategory of defamation and is punishable by law. The guy could take it to trial and even sue for damages if he lost his job because of the accusation or something similar. However, he'd have to provide concrete evidence that he's innocent in order to make the charge stick. Even so, if the group creator says she really was raped and honestly thought it was him she could still get off on a technicality. He would have to somehow prove that she knew what she was saying was false.

That's what I gathered from here: http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/slander/

epchick · #9 08-18-2008, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christiangirl

In answer to your question, that's definitely not illegal...unless it's untrue. If it's true, then the First Amendment could protect the group creator's right to publish that information. If it's not, then it becomes slander which is a subcategory of defamation and is punishable by law. The guy could take it to trial and even sue for damages if he lost his job because of the accusation or something similar. However, he'd have to provide concrete evidence that he's innocent in order to make the charge stick. Even so, if the group creator says she really was raped and honestly thought it was him she could still get off on a technicality. He would have to somehow prove that she knew what she was saying was false.

That's what I gathered from here: http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/slander/

You've got the right idea, except in this case it isn't slander, its libel. Slander is oral defamation, while libel is written.

If this guy decided to take it to trial he would have to prove "actual malice." If I can remember my Law of Mass Comm class correctly, the guy would have to prove that the creator of the group created the group without proper knowledge and didn't regard the validity of the information.

So he would have to prove that the creator of the group KNEW the information was false, but that they didn't care.

Actual malice is reeeeeeally hard to prove a lot of the time, especially the fact about knowing whether the information was actually true.

SHEETCAKE · #10 08-19-2008, 12:08 AM

This looks like a job for INTERNET LAWYER!

christiangirl · #11 08-19-2008, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christiangirl

He would have to somehow prove that she knew what she was saying was false.

Quote:

Originally Posted by epchick

So he would have to prove that the creator of the group KNEW the information was false, but that they didn't care.

Isn't that half a dozen in one hand and 6 in the other?

Leslie Anne · #12 08-19-2008, 10:55 AM

Some friends and I had a moral & legal dilemma like this back in college. A group of pledges from XYZ fraternity gang raped one of my Kappa Delta sisters. The victim chose to leave school and not pursue the matter. We had other ideas.

What we wanted to do was write a letter listing the "alleged" offenders, make a few thousand copies and take it to every sorority on campus and some of the dorms. I'll admit it would have been a bit out of revenge but we were also honesty concerned about the other women who could potentially be victims as well. Our biggest hope was that by notifying the sororities no one would participate in anything with XYZ unless they dropped their pledges.

In the end we didn't have enough accurate information, our KD sister was unreachable and we were worried about accusations of libel and slander. My guess is that nothing happened to the pledges but I'm not sure. I left college about 2 months later.

Kevin · #13 08-19-2008, 11:07 AM

Is it illegal? Not that I can tell.. she's not going to be locked up.

Will it get her sued? Probably, yes. Libel, false light, etc.

PeppyGPhiB · #14 08-19-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by epchick

You've got the right idea, except in this case it isn't slander, its libel. Slander is oral defamation, while libel is written.

If this guy decided to take it to trial he would have to prove "actual malice." If I can remember my Law of Mass Comm class correctly, the guy would have to prove that the creator of the group created the group without proper knowledge and didn't regard the validity of the information.

So he would have to prove that the creator of the group KNEW the information was false, but that they didn't care.

Actual malice is reeeeeeally hard to prove a lot of the time, especially the fact about knowing whether the information was actually true.

This is correct. In order to win a libel suit, the guy would have to prove that the person who created this group knew the information she was supplying was false and that she was intending to cause harm to him. First amendment protects her.

There are a ton of groups on Facebook similar to this one. They're not all claiming rape, but other atrocities.

Kevin · #15 08-19-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

This is correct. In order to win a libel suit, the guy would have to prove that the person who created this group knew the information she was supplying was false and that she was intending to cause harm to him. First amendment protects her.

I guess you've never heard of a false light. Portraying him as a rapist casts him in a false light and can cause him injury.

Accusation of a serious crime is also libel per se. If it's made regarding a private person, there's no requirement for malice. The burden would be on the defendant to prove that what she said was true -- that this fellla is a rapist. Since the police declined to file charges, that's going to be a pretty tall order.

Quote:

There are a ton of groups on Facebook similar to this one. They're not all claiming rape, but other atrocities.

And because something is on Facebook, it's not actionable? What is the point of saying this?