Surviving
Celine Boulben

Guilty Until Proven
Innocent...?

Rape is a heinous crime. It is the most unreported crime by both men and women. This crime carries a unique conscience to both; when the victims need to deal with their private lives being revealed to the world and a caricature challenge, and the accused has to deal with "Guilty until proven innocent." One must pose and ask: were those charges made by the people to benefit the public and their protection, or by a DA and ADA that put their career before the public interest?

“If you call a woman a liar, even if you didn’t do [what you’re being accused of], you’re guilty of calling a woman a liar, so there’s no way out. If you don’t deny it, you’re thought to be guilty. If you do deny it, you’ve committed an additional political sin, so it’s a trap. And it feels just horrible...They either assume your guilt or they assume you shouldn’t be asserting your innocence." - Alan Dershowitz

The many victims

OF false rape allegations

  • Revenge or Malice

    Accusations may stem from a desire to retaliate against someone for perceived wrongs; such as breakups, argument, or other personal grievances

  • Misunderstood Consent

    Confusion or miscommunication about consent can lead to false accusations. In some cases, individuals may retrospectively interpret consensual sexual encounters as non-consensual

  • Legal or Financial Gain

    Accusers may seek financial compensation or legal advantage through false allegations

  • Pressure from Others

    External influences, such as pressure from friends, family or even law enforcement, might lead someone to make a false accusation

  • MAD Project

    In a multi-site study of 8 U.S. communities involved in the “Making a Difference” (or “MAD”) Project, data were collected by law enforcement agencies for all sexual assault reports received in an 18-24 month period. Of the 2,059 cases that were included in the study, 140 (7%) were classified as false. This is particularly noteworthy because a number of measures were taken to protect the reliability and validity of the research. First, all participating law enforcement agencies were provided training and technical assistance in an ongoing way to ensure that they were applying consistent definitions for a false report. In addition, a random sample of cases was checked for data entry errors

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  • United States research

    To date, the MAD study is the only research conducted in the U.S. to evaluate the percentage of false reports made to law enforcement. The remaining evidence is therefore based on research conducted outside the U.S., but it all converges within the same range of 2-8%

  • Red Flags for Investigators

    Inconsistencies in the story, delayed reporting, lack of physical evidence, motive to lie, behavior of the accuser, Social or Media pressure, lack of cooperation

Case solved

but tensions remain

The indictment and media frenzy orchestrated by the prosecutors devastated Mr. Kahlon’s reputation before he had a chance to defend himself. Although he was acquitted in a jury trial in Nassau County in October 2023, over two years after the false allegations, the damage was already done. The lingering tension and the loss of peace in his life persist, overshadowing his acquittal.

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