Passersby tweeted photos and videos of a woman 'being sexually assaulted on the sidewalk' just a block from a police station... and not a single person intervened

By Meghan Keneally

PUBLISHED: 00:17 EST, 16 October 2013 | UPDATED: 04:06 EST, 16 October 2013


Horrific photos of an alleged rape in progress have been shared on social media after crowds at a college homecoming celebration chose to take pictures and videos of the sex act rather than stopping it.

The woman seen receiving oral sex in the photos and videos reportedly had no idea what happened to her until the next morning when she saw the photos online.

Many of the photos of incident have been taken down by the Instagram users who originally posted them, but news sites like Buzzfeed have republished them.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Horrible: The photo, which MailOnline has cropped, shows the man kneeling down and performing a sex act on the woman against the wall of a Chase bank while a third person watches (their hand is visible to the right)

Horrible: The photo, which MailOnline has cropped, shows the man kneeling down and performing a sex act on the woman against the wall of a Chase bank while a third person watches (their hand is visible to the right)

The woman in the photos contacted the police on Sunday and reported the rape to the Athens, Ohio police department.

Police have confirmed that a sexual assault was reported on Sunday, but they have not said if the victim in question is the woman seen wearing a green top, jeans and brown boots in the photos online.

 

More...

The captions of the photos indicate that the incident happened on Court Street over Ohio University's homecoming weekend.

That same street is where the school's marching band performed earlier on Saturday, with a large crowd filling the street.

In one of the most graphic photos- which shows the man kneeling in front of the woman as she leans against a Chase bank- makes it clear that there were onlookers just feet away from the incident as it was in progress.

Disturbing: A different photo shows the woman passed out on the side of a street in Athens, Ohio Sunday morning following the Ohio University homecoming festivities on Saturday

Disturbing: A different photo shows the woman passed out on the side of a street in Athens, Ohio Sunday morning following the Ohio University homecoming festivities on Saturday

Spreading the word: Twitter and Instagram users posted about the alleged incident not knowing that the woman has since reported it to police as a sexual assault

Spreading the word: Twitter and Instagram users posted about the alleged incident not knowing that the woman has since reported it to police as a sexual assault

That photo was sent over Twitter to a person who runs one of the biggest revenge porn websites, indicating that the photographer was trying to get it published.

Victim-shaming: Some online users have been attacking the woman saying that she is crying rape

Victim-shaming: Some online users have been attacking the woman saying that she is crying rape

That Twitter user has since deleted their account but they were not the only one to witness the incident.

'Still can believe a dude was ****** *** on court street Saturday night in front of like 10 people,' a different Twitter user wrote.

Not only was the scene of the alleged crime a busy street but it was also one block away from the police station.

Police are still investigating the case but the community is already going on the attack.

'Some of us are really angered and disappointed that no one intervened and they just filmed it,' said Allie Erwin, a student at Ohio University who leads an anti-rape group on campus.

'Their first impulse was to share it on social media and make a mockery of something that was probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to her. There are other people who saw it as her asking for it and think it’s a joke. Basically they’re slut-shaming her for what happened,' she said according to Metro.

'The response on social media is kind of heartbreaking, how harsh and cruel people are being.'

'I don't know that we have a set time yet but we have a time frame we're working with,' police captain Ralph Harvey told local paper The Athens Messenger.

'We’re looking at every aspect and everything that could possibly be a factor.

'Whether (alcohol) was a factor or not may or may not have a bearing on the investigation, so it’s not something we would focus on, especially initially.'

Close for comfort: The photos suggest the alleged sexual assault took place against the Chase bank on Court Street which is about a block away from the police department

Close for comfort: The photos suggest the alleged sexual assault took place against the Chase bank on Court Street which is about a block away from the police department

Confirmation: The local reporter pointed out the horrible twist related to the location

Confirmation: The local reporter pointed out the horrible twist related to the location

Mr Harvey said that the videos are being used in the case but that by no means equates to an open-and-shut case.

'Any videos have to viewed with a grain of salt, even if they are the actual videos, because while it’s generally believed the video doesn’t lie, it’s one perspective on something,' he said.

'A lot of times you get some piece of evidence that’s the "smoking gun" when in reality that leads you to something else that makes you question something else you thought was an absolute, positive truth and maybe it’s not.'

Comments (48)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

Report comment

Sounds like he was probably just as drunk as well if he thought that was an appropriate hook up location.

0
0
 Click to rate
Report comment

I am a female. I hate victim shaming. But how can onlookers tell? Should one of them had walked up to her and said--did you consent to this act? Usually, we expect a victim to be fighting back or yelling. How do we know that she did not give consent?

1
8
 Click to rate
Report comment

Why do people rush to judgement before all the real facts come to light.... This girl could have been drugged and that would imped her ability to say NO and act differenctly or the girl could be a willing participant, we don't know... I think the worst par tif all the videos and how people have such low moral values that they didn't stop it either way! What has political correctness done to this worlds youth and young adults????? SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS

1
2
 Click to rate
Report comment

Athens, OHIO Clown nose kitten, NOT Athens Greece.

2
2
 Click to rate
Report comment

Jayk85 nobody would seek this attention. Something horrible has happened and you are excelling in being ignorant and narrow minded.

1
3
 Click to rate
Report comment

Shame on The Mail for shoddy journalism! The photo of the supposed victim passed out on the street isn't even the same person. Did she change out of her green pants and what seems to be a brown shirt, into denims and turquoise before laying down on the street? Took me all of 5 seconds to spot, have some journalistic pride and proof your work!

6
10
 Click to rate
Report comment

If the roles were reversed, and it was a drunken man on the receiving end, would people call it sexual assault? Doubtful.

7
16
 Click to rate
Report comment

What do you expect...its Greece

20
1
 Click to rate
Report comment

Ohio is a dump.

7
15
 Click to rate
Report comment

Maybe her drink was spiked by this bloke? It's a possibility.

7
29
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now