Savannah Dietrich, a 17-year-old girl from Kentucky who was sexually assaulted, was incensed when a judge gave her two confessed attackers what she considered to be a light sentence.
Dietrich took to social media to rail against the two men, whom she claims were "slapped on the wrist," even though she was ordered by the court not to discuss details of the case, including the names of her attackers.
Soon after, a lawyer for one of the boys went so far to say that Dietrich had ruined his client's life by calling him out as a rapist.
Now, a Kentucky newspaper that has been fighting in juvenile court to open files in the Dietrich case has filed a supplemental memorandum based on a Huffington Post article.
The Courier-Journal, a media outlet based in Louisville, filed the memorandum on Wednesday, one day after comments made to HuffPost by attorney David Mejia were published.
Mejia represented one of the teenage boys who confessed to felony sexual abuse and misdemeanor voyeurism in connection with Dietrich's 2011 sexual assault. Mejia discussed several aspects of the case in a phone interview with HuffPost Tuesday. Those comments are outlined in the supplemental memorandum. The Aug. 21 HuffPost article has also been entered into evidence.
The Courier-Journal has been trying to get the court to open the case files so that Dietrich and anyone else involved in the case can discuss specific details that are currently kept confidential by juvenile court rules.
The original motion filed by the newspaper argued that "serious questions have been raised in this case about how the system has been used to protect, perhaps inappropriately, the two defendants who have admitted to abusing Ms. Dietrich, while at the same time unconstitutionally depriving Ms. Dietrich of her First Amendment rights to free speech."
According to the motion, Mejia appeared in court on Aug. 21 and "vehemently argued against the Courier-Journal's motion by repeatedly stating that he and his client have deliberately avoided making public statements about the facts of this case."
Give them hell Savanah
ReplyDeleteI dont think her life is ruined, but may have been if she does not receive justice (which is yet to be told). She needs restitution for some sort of closure. She needs to know that the boys will be tried, and then punished appropriately for crimes committed against her. The system let her down. The system / prosecutors apparently took the easy way out at the expense of her mental anguish and of being violated.
ReplyDeleteDietrich's attorney is absolutely right. the boy's attorney is able to make public statements decrying dietrich while he also tells everyone that his client's information is off limits? and i'm sorry what does the fact that they're minors have to do with the fact that they actually admitted to raping her? we're not talking about stealing candy from a freakin' store or even underage drinking. we're talking about denying another human being their basic dignity and their right to refuse physical contact/sexual intercourse with you. i'm sorry but for felony sexual assault there should be no sealing of any records. these two should be registering as sex offenders which is public record.
ReplyDeletethe fact that one of their attorneys is stating that dietrich has "ruined" their life by outing them as a rapists only goes to prove how little these boys really understand or think that what they did was truly wrong or care how they've impacted dietrich's life. proof that whatever sentence they received wasn't enough and that they're more than capable of doing this again... all the more reason their names should be made public. i've got no sympathy to self confessed rapists.
So what are the facts of the case? Was she sexually assaulted by these two boys, if so, to what extent can she reveal their names to the media? What happens when the boys turn eighteen, does the gag order still apply? If she, as the victim, has been publicly identified, why not the accusers? If she committed slander and libel, then they should go back to court, but so long as she has the preponderance of truth, then she should be in the clear.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about this case but the comment from the boy's attorney caught my eye. He said his clients life has been ruined by her??? She asked for him to sexually assault her? Does he or his lawyer not realize that he ruined her life? She will never be the same. Her life is completely altered. Keep your chin up girl and don't back down!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very brave young woman. First she released the name's of her attacks defying a court order and now she wants to meet with her attackers confronting them will give her closure and inner peace. May they rot in heck.
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