"Mont. sex assaults under US scrutiny" May 02, 2012|Globe Staff, Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON - The United States is investigating whether the University of Montana in Missoula and local law enforcement failed to investigate and prosecute cases of alleged sexual assault against women, the Justice Department said.
The department is reviewing rape accusations made by women on and off campus in Missoula, including those unconnected to the university.
The Justice Department said it has not determined how many of the 80 rapes reported in Missoula during the past three years were not properly investigated....
“The allegations that the University of Montana, the local police department, and the county attorney’s office failed to adequately address sexual assaults are very disturbing,’’ Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
I don't know what it is, but that guy makes me furious!!
The Justice Department is examining whether gender discrimination played a role in a failure to investigate.
Justice Department letters to the university and local officials describing the investigation did not mention sexual assault allegations women made against two members of the Division I football team at the state’s oldest college, which has nearly 16,000 students. One player has been charged....
You know, between the misogyny, violence, concussions, and suicides, it's time to start thinking about banning football.
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Ready for, well, you know.... ??
"US is investigating rapes in Montana; Inquiry looks at university and law enforcement" by Amy Linn | Washington Post, May 13, 2012
MISSOULA, Mont. - As she tends her inn on the bank of Montana’s Clark Fork River, Meg Estey says she welcomes the federal government’s investigation of 80 reported rapes in three years in the college town she calls home.
“I have never in my life felt concerned about my safety in Missoula,’’ said Estey, an innkeeper at Goldsmith’s Bed and Breakfast. “This is alarming, knowing this is going on in your community. To know the book is being opened and evaluated is a good thing in our minds.’’
The Justice Department disclosed the number of sexual
assault complaints this month while announcing it will investigate how
local law enforcement agencies and the University of Montana responded
to rape allegations.
Until recently, attention focused on 11 reported rapes in 18 months involving college students at the University of Montana and a string of allegations against players on its football team.
Is that why they are not being properly investigated?
The events led to an investigation commissioned by the university and to campus forums, a new code of conduct for athletes, and the requirement that all students take online tutorials on sexual assault.
The Justice Department said it is examining whether gender discrimination has affected investigation and prosecution of sex assaults by the university’s Office of Public Safety, the Missoula Police Department, and the Missoula County attorney’s office....
The news sent shockwaves across Missoula, where businesses are preparing for the busiest season of the year in an area famous for scenic rivers and mountain views, nestled between Yellowstone and Glacier national parks.
“Absolutely we are concerned,’’ said James Grunke, chief executive of the Missoula Economic Partnership. “We want students, citizens, and visitors to feel safe.’’
“But this is not an ongoing criminal investigation, or that there’s some sort of rapist running around Missoula,’’ he said. “It’s a review of the process of how sexual assaults were reported.’’
Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg said he thought federal investigators were overreaching....
Hey, they have to do something to justify their jobs.
What do you want them doing, investigating corporate and bank fraud?
The Montana investigation is similar to reviews that found a pattern of gender discrimination in the New Orleans Police Department and mishandling of sex crimes in the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona, the US Justice Department said.
Related: Arizona Sheriff's Office
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Time to cuddle:
"‘Mountain man’ to stay behind bars" April 28, 2012
DEER LODGE, Mont. - Montana officials on Friday rejected parole for a notorious “mountain man’’ who abducted a world-class athlete in 1984 to keep as a wife for his son, and then shot her and left her to die during a rescue attempt.
The state Board of Pardons and Parole held its third parole hearing for Don Nichols, 81, as federal authorities search for his son Dan, accused earlier this month of drug and gun crimes.
The hearing included testimony from kidnapping victim Kari Swenson, her husband, her father, plus former and current law enforcement officials. Board members denied his parole.
Three decades ago, the father-son duo abducted Swenson, a world-class biathlete, while she was on a training run in the mountains above the town of Big Sky. They eluded police for five months after shooting her and killing a would-be rescuer.
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