sexualassault
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New Kevin Spacey accusations come from 'House of Cards' crew
Earlier this week, Netflix announced that the next (sixth) season of its show House of Cards would be its last -- and then suspended production -- when allegations emerged of sexual harassment by lead actor Kevin Spacey. Today, eight people who worked on the show told CNN that Spacey repeatedly sexually harassed people on set, and one said that the actor sexually assaulted him.
#MeToo becomes a rallying cry for survivors of sexual assault
Yesterday, a campaign geared towards demonstrating just how common sexual assault and harassment are began to spread on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Alongside the hashtag #MeToo, women began posting their own stories of harassment in response to a prompt by Alyssa Milano.
Snapchat video of alleged sexual assault leads to quick arrest
A man in Ohio is being held on a $1 million bond today after being charged with an alleged rape that was recorded and uploaded onto Snapchat by his victim. There aren't a lot of details about the situation as of now, but reports say that police were called to a residence for a welfare check early Tuesday morning. Everything seemed to be alright at the time. However, later in the morning, people as far away as Texas who had viewed the victim's Snapchat video began notifying the police that a sexual assault may have occurred at the residence, and the video was forwarded to the authorities. Based on the video content, which a detective involved with the arrest said were very "clear," the man, 77-year-old James D. Allen, was arrested.
Woman raped in India sues Uber for obtaining her medical records
The Uber passenger who was brutally raped by her driver in India in 2014 has sued the ride-hailing firm for improperly obtaining and sharing her medical records. See, while the company showed support for her plight and publicly declared that it will do "everything to help bring [the] perpetrator to justice" -- the accused, pictured above, was sentenced to life in prison -- its head honchos apparently doubted her story. The lawsuit is partly based on a report published by Recode and The New York Times in early June, which revealed that Uber executive Eric Alexander got her records from the doctors who examined her after the sexual assault.
Uber fires executive who obtained rape victim's medical records
Uber's problems with corporate culture aren't over just because it fired 20 people. Both the New York Times and Recode have learned that the ridesharing company has fired Asia-Pacific president Eric Alexander (shown above) after word got out that he obtained the medical records of a woman raped by her Uber driver in New Delhi, India. Uber would only confirm that Alexander is no longer an employee, but it's more than a little unusual for a transportation exec to get sensitive information relating to a criminal case. And if the sources are accurate, the reasons behind the move are equally strange.
I sat in on a virtual support group for sexual-assault survivors
Thanks to its ability to give you a first-person point of view, virtual reality has become a common vehicle for empathetic storytelling. Testimony, a VR project that premiered at Tribeca 2017, does so by putting you in a virtual support group, showing the effectiveness of simply watching people tell their stories, especially when the subject is as disturbing as sexual assault.
Police make first arrest in Facebook Live sexual assault case
Law enforcement is taking sweeping action following a horrific sexual assault streamed on Facebook Live. Chicago police report that they've made the first arrest in the case, bringing a 14-year-old boy into custody. There will be more arrests soon, according to the CPD, including a 15-year-old who's next in line. Details of the case are mostly under wraps beyond a connection between the victim and one of her attackers (their age prevents disclosing some of the facts). However, it's already clear that the livestream wasn't the end to the internet-based trauma -- in fact, it's still ongoing.
Uber driver accused of raping an unconscious 17-year-old girl
An Uber driver in Southern California was charged Thursday with four felony counts of sexual assault for allegedly raping an unconscious 17-year-old girl as he drove her home to Laguna Beach early Saturday morning. The suspect, 23-year-old Samer Alaaeldin Mahran, is currently being held on $100,000 bail and could face a maximum sentence of up to 28 years in prison if convicted.
Uber settles big sexual assault cases in the US
Uber has settled with two Jane Does in the US who were allegedly sexually assaulted by the service's drivers in 2015, according to Bloomberg. The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the company in California because they wanted to hold the ride-hailing service responsible for the suspects' actions. Uber tried to argue that it can't be held liable for its drivers since they're contractors and not employees, but a federal judge denied its request to toss the case in May this year. Now, six months later, both parties have reached an agreement, though the details weren't released to the public.
Uber can't dodge assault lawsuit because of contract drivers
Uber drivers may legally be contractors rather than employees, but that doesn't absolve the company of liability in assault cases. A federal judge in California has denied the ride-sharing company's motion to dismiss a lawsuit for attacks against two riders. One of Uber's main arguments was that its drivers aren't employees, so it isn't responsible for their actions. However, the judge ruled that "plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts to claim plausibly that an employment relationship exists."
India mandates all smartphones must come with a panic button
India has decreed that, from 2017, all phones must be sold with a panic button that lets users instantly alert the emergency services. A year later and all devices sold must also come with GPS as standard in order for authorities to quickly locate victims of sexual assault. According to India's Economic Times, a long press on either the 5 or 9 button on a feature phone will be routed straight to police. In addition, smartphones will have to provide an on-screen emergency button or enable a panic call to be placed by -- for instance -- pressing the sleep/wake button three times in succession.
Teen indicted for Periscoping her friend's sexual assault
An Ohio woman used Periscope to livestream her friend's rape. According to a report by local NBC affiliate KXAN, in February 18-year-old Marina Lonina and her 17-year-old friend were hanging out with 29-year-old Raymond Boyd Gates when after an indeterminate period of time, Gates allegedly began sexually assaulting the victim. From another state, one of Lonina's friends watching the stream reported it to the proper authorities. A grand jury has recently indicted Lonina and Gates with charges for one count of kidnapping, two of rape, one of sexual battery and three counts of pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor.
Uber rejects talk of 'thousands' of sexual assault reports
Uber isn't fond of allegations that it doesn't do enough to stop sexual assault during rides, and it's opening up some of its data to prevent its bruised reputation from getting worse. In response to BuzzFeed News obtaining leaked customer support data suggesting that there were thousands of complaints about sexual assault during trips, Uber has released official info that suggests the problem isn't as serious. Reportedly, there were "fewer than" 170 complaints of sexual assault between December 2012 and August 2015, and five of rape -- still horrific, but not as bad as implied. The search queries that BuzzFeed obtained supposedly include results that have no relation to actual cases, such as names (people named "Rapelli" would show up) or pricing gripes that involve a poor choice of words.
