Here's what you need to know about the case and the potential consequences for Rose both on and off the court.
What's the lawsuit against Rose about?
The woman, identified as Jane Doe, alleges that, after dating Rose for two years, he and two of his friends broke into her Los Angeles apartment on the early morning of Aug. 27, 2013, and took turns raping her while she went in and out of consciousness.
She says she was too intoxicated to give consent. She also claims that Rose and two friends slipped a drug into her drink. Rose admits that he and his friends had sex with Jane Doe that night but he maintains that she drank only a small amount of alcohol and did not appear intoxicated. Rose claims she welcomed him and his two friends into her apartment and initiated sex with them. On Aug. 26, 2015, Doe filed this lawsuit against Rose and his two friends. She is suing them for sexual battery (rape) under California civil law.
Doe seeks approximately $21.5 million for, among other things, pain and suffering, emotional distress, lost wages, attorneys' fees and legal costs. Doe also wants punitive damages -- i.e., an award of money that's just meant to punish Rose and his friends. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is presiding over the trial.
These are their feelings on the issue, from a memorandum filed on August 22: This is not a rape case. It’s pure and simple extortion by a plaintiff who wants to hide behind the cloak of anonymity while seeking millions in damages from a celebrity with whom she was in a long-term nonexclusive consensual sexual relationship.
"It's unfair to the plaintiff," attorney Waukeen McCoy complained.
A federal judge said he wouldn't make any decision without knowing what was said and hearing from Rose's lawyer.
Jury selection resumes Wednesday without a single juror selected. A pool of 50 candidates was asked what they know about the case, what basketball team they root for and whether they can set aside their own sexual moral beliefs and biases.
Rose, who is returning to the sport with a new team after several injuries, is expected to appear Thursday in court. His two friends and their accuser sat through jury selection on opposite sides of the courtroom. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald gave prospective jurors an outline of the case, warning that they would hear testimony involving sex acts, vulgarity and profanity. "Sex is essentially at the heart of what has been alleged and denied," Fitzgerald said.
The trial threatens to overshadow Rose's attempts to bounce back from injuries that sidelined him the past few seasons and expose details of his sex life, including text messages discussing his desire to have group sex. The woman has said she rebuffed those offers and never consented to sex with the trio. She claimed she was drugged, though Rose's lawyers said there's no evidence of any drugs.
The woman, who dated Rose on and off for two years, claims he and two friends got into her apartment and had sex with her while she was intoxicated in August 2013. Los Angeles police are still investigating. She was identified in court for the first time Tuesday and introduced to jurors by name.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault. Rose and friends Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen denied the allegations and said the sex was consensual. Lawyers for the three complained about the racial and ethnic makeup of the prospective jurors, noting only two were African-American like the defendants.
They noted that 15 of the first 27 jurors had Hispanic surnames, as does their accuser. The jury pool was selected at random from a diverse population, Fitzgerald said. He said that was just "tough luck" and he could not alter the group. Jurors were asked to fill out a short questionnaire that asked about their families, jobs and whether they or their relatives had ever been sexually assaulted.
They were asked what a woman should do if she has been raped. The judge noted that many respondents said they thought it should be reported to authorities right away. He said that would be a point of dispute in the trial and he asked jurors to keep an open mind. Each said they would.
The woman reported the incident to police last year — two years after she says she was raped — which is when she sued. Rose's attorneys said the woman is trying to extort millions from the former MVP. The woman had wanted to remain anonymous because she said she was harassed online after her name was leaked and she didn't want her conservative parents to learn about the incident. She said they don't know anything about it or her relationship with Rose.
Fitzgerald allowed her to remain anonymous until trial. If he kept her identity from the jury, he said it might appear he was protecting her and jurors might assume he believed her, which could hurt the defense.
The Slut-Shaming Defense
In multiple court briefings, Rose’s legal team describes Doe as “sexually adventurous,” and as the “sexual aggressor” the night in question.
Of course, being sexually adventurous has no bearing on whether or not a person can be raped. And in this particular case, it also seems like a mischaracterization of Doe.
In particular, they focus on the fact that she “volunteered to bring a sex belt to have fun with Mr. Rose” on August 26. While it is true that Doe mentioned a sex belt, Rose said himself in the deposition that he told her to get the belt.
Q: You told her to get [the sex belt]? Is that what you said?
Rose: Yeah.
Q: Okay. And did she ask you to pay her money for buying it?
Rose: I kind of assumed myself that I was going to look out for her for her just getting it anyway, but I think it was — we both understood that I was going to give her something for the belt.
Derrick Rose
Weight: 190 lbs.
Born: October 04, 1988 |
Birth Place: Chicago, IL, USA
Drafted: 2008, Round: 1, Pick: 1 (Memphis)
Experience: 6 season(s) (2008 - 2015)
Status: Active Current
Team: New York Knicks
While there are multiple texts proving that Rose repeatedly asked for videos from Doe, she denies ever sending any, and Rose has not produced any in discovery.
Defendant Rose to Plaintiff: “I can’t wait to get my pussy” (06/20/2013 01:06:35 PM)
Defendant Rose to Plaintiff: “Send a video” (06/20/2013 01:31:48 PM)
Defendant Rose to Plaintiff: “Send a video” (06/20/2013 01:32:56 PM)
Defendant Rose to Plaintiff: “I want to see her cumin” (06/20/2013 01:38:08 PM)
Defendant Rose to Plaintiff: “Let me know when u send it” (06/20/2013 01:43:21 PM)
Defendant Rose to Plaintiff: “Was u able to send it” (06/20/2013 02:41:39 PM)
After Rose and Doe had been dating for a year-and-a-half, Rose began to request she join him in group sex. But according to Rose’s own deposition, prior to the night of the alleged rape, she always refused. In fact, Rose called off the relationship with Doe earlier that summer after she refused to engage in a foursome with Rose, Randall Hampton, and Hampton’s girlfriend.
An excerpt from Derrick Rose’s deposition. He is talking about an occurrence in June 2013, when he invited Doe to his hotel to engage in group sex with his friend and his friend’s girlfriend. Also in June 2013, Rose asked Doe to bring a friend along with her to visit him. She did, but as he clearly states, the two did not consent to group sex.
Rose: Oh, I wanted her to bring a friend for a threesome.
Q: And did she?
Rose: No. I mean, she brought her yeah.
Q: And did you try to have a threesome with her?
Rose: I don’t think it played out that way. No, I didn’t try.
Q: [Plaintiff] wouldn’t consent to any sort of sexual activity with [her friend]; isn’t that right?
Rose: Yeah. Later in the deposition, Rose flat-out denies ever having group sex with Doe, because every time he pushed the issue, she would refuse.
Q: Have you ever had a threesome or a foursome with [Plaintiff]?
Rose: No. …
Q: All the other times that you pushed that issue with her, she refused; isn’t that right? …
Rose: Yeah
THE REAL ISSUE
The Real Issue: Consent Ultimately, this is a rape case, and therefore it all comes down to whether or not Doe consented to group sex, whether or not she was even sober enough to consent to group sex, and if she wasn’t sober enough, whether or not Rose and the other defendants were aware of that.
As to Doe’s level of inebriation on the morning in question, Rose’s own expert toxicologist estimated she had a BAC level of 0.20, which is 2.5 times the legal driving limit. “I said we men. You can assume. Like we leaving to go over to someone’s house at 1:00, there’s nothing to talk about.” Jessica Groff, Doe’s friend who was at Rose’s party with her, said in her deposition that it was “very obvious” Doe was intoxicated.
In fact, Doe even burned her hand after she picked up rocks in the fire pit for “no rational reason.” After Groff allegedly had a fight with Allen that night, she decided to leave the party.
However, she refused to leave Doe alone at the house. “I knew [Doe] was very intoxicated,” Groff said in her deposition. “I definitely was not going to leave her there alone. I did not feel safe and did not believe [Doe] would be safe if left alone.” So Groff and Doe got a cab, and Groff dropped Doe off at her apartment. Later that night, Rose inquired about whether Doe got home safely, and the two began conversing again through text message.
Rose wanted to send someone to pick up Doe and return her to his house, but she wanted Rose to come to her apartment, alone. Texts between Derrick Rose and Jane Doe on the night of the alleged rape. Eventually, Rose arrived at Doe’s apartment with Allen and Hampton.
She stopped responding to texts well before they arrived, as was revealed in the Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendant Rose’s Motion to Preclude Use of Pseudonym at Trial, filed on August 29:
The evidence shows that Plaintiff was unconscious when Defendants arrived to her apartment in the early morning hours of August 27, 2013, and that she did not respond to texts or calls from Defendants Rose and Allen: 2:05 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:12 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:27 AM
Text from Defendant Rose to Plaintiff “Hello?” 2:29 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:49 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:50 AM
Text from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff “We outside” 2:50 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:51 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:52 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered 2:52 AM
Text from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff “Wake yo ass up” 2:53 AM
Call from Defendant Allen to Plaintiff Unanswered In a deposition on June 17, Rose says that he didn’t talk with Allen and Hampton about the reason they were going to Doe’s apartment, but that the reason was understood because “we men.”
Q: Did either Mr. Hampton or Mr. Allen tell you why they wanted to go to Plaintiff’s home on the night in question?
Rose: No. No.
Q: So they just said, ‘Hey, it’s the middle of the night. Let’s go over to Plaintiff’s house’ and they never gave you a reason why they wanted to go over there?’
Rose: No, but we men. You can assume.
Q: I’m sorry?
Rose: I said we men. You can assume. Like we leaving to go over to someone’s house at 1:00, there’s nothing to talk about.
However, while the defense is using Doe’s texts inviting Rose over to her apartment that night as proof that she consented, Rose admitted in his deposition that nowhere in the text message did she consent or even mention group sex.
Q: All right. Is there — within what you just reviewed in those text messages, is there anything within them that would lead you to believe that plaintif wanted to have sex with you and the other two defendants on August 26th, 2013? …
Rose: No.
The Aftermath Doe said in her deposition that she woke up the next morning “fully dressed and wet with lubricant.” Her sheets were a mess and also filled with lubricant, and there was a used condom. “I never had my apartment that way,” she said. “Like that would have never happened.” She went to work that morning, and slowly began piecing together memories from the night of before, with an assist from Groff’s text messages and her roommate. It took her a few days to tell her roommate what had happened. Deposition of Jane Doe’s roommate The morning of August 27, Doe reached out to Rose.
She texted him about her hangover, and asked him to reimburse her for Groff’s cab fare from the night before and for the sex belt, which she admitted in her deposition that she lied to Rose about purchasing. She did not mention the alleged rape. Texts between Derrick Rose and Jane Doe. Rose’s lawyers say that this undermines “the validity of her allegations in this lawsuit.” Jane Doe, meanwhile, said in her deposition that she didn’t really care that much about the money for the sex belt, it was just her way of reaching out to Rose. She wanted to talk to him about what happened that night. “I didn’t want — I was just too — I was too prideful, and I felt — I didn’t want to mention anything that had happened. And that’s the way I felt like I could communicate with him without feeling like I was completely victimized,”
Doe said. She did get somewhat more direct with Rose (and Allen) in the coming days and weeks. Texts between Jane Doe and Derrick Rose on August 30, 2013. A text from Jane Doe to Ryan Allen on September 9, 2013 Rape cases are always uphill climbs for victims. According to RAINN, less than one percent of all rapists will ever spend a day in jail. Rape trials, which often boil at least partially down to he-said, she-said, are always damning for both parties, but particularly for the alleged victim when the accused rapist is a celebrity.
As previously reported, in a study of the media coverage of the Kobe Bryant rape case, Renae Franiuk, a professor of psychology at Aurora University, found that the media was incredibly guilty of perpetuating rape myths, such as “she’s lying,” “she asked for it,” or “she wanted it.”Media and fans latch onto these narratives because they don’t want to believe that the player they root for, whether it’s Ben Roethlisberger or Greg Hardy, Jameis Winston or Patrick Kane, is capable of committing such a crime. That’s why flashy headlines such as “Derrick Rose Accuser Consented to Group Sex … Mad Over Sex Toy” can be so effective in shaping the public discourse about a case. “These people believing these myths don’t want people to be sexually assaulted, and, ironically, that’s why they don’t believe the women,” Franiuk said. “It’s easier to believe the myths because you don’t want to believe that sexual assault is possible, but then that disbelief just makes the problem of sexual assault worse.” Since the alleged assault, Doe allegedly “experiences severe anxiety and nervousness, tension, accompanied by worry and fear of being subjected to another traumatic sexually abusive experience.” She says the anxiety has impacted her physically — she pulls out her eyelashes and hair, twitches in public, scratches at her face, and is experiencing adult acne for the first time in her life. Rose stated from the beginning that he was not going to let this case change his lifestyle, and that he was going to use it as “motivation.” The Knicks were his “first choice” for a trade. He is on the final year of his contract, and will earn $21.3 million this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment