Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Retarded Teen Raped in Library Bathroom and Library is Unaware

A retarded teen is raped in a public library bathroom and the library didn't even know! Here is the article "RAPE! Teen Sexually Assaulted at Library," followed by my letter to the editor:

RAPE! Teen sexually assaulted at Library
By Gersh Kuntzman
The Brooklyn Paper
May 10, 2008

Two men raped a mentally retarded teenager in the bathroom at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central branch on Grand Army Plaza on April 14, cops said.

According to police, the victim, who suffers from Down Syndrome and cannot communicate verbally, did not indicate to her family that something had happened to her, but her relatives figured out that she was in pain and took her to the hospital.

Once there, doctors discovered trauma and other evidence that she had been sexually assaulted, cops said.

A spokeswoman for the library said it was unaware of the incident. She said the library had not been contacted by the police.

©2008 The Brooklyn Paper

Now here is my letter to the editor for publication in The Brooklyn Paper:

A retarded child is raped in a public library bathroom and the library was not aware of this? What else is unknown to the library? Were the "two men" using the Internet computers to view p0rnographic material immediately before the rape, like happens in library after library nationwide?
Maybe the librarians do know something. Maybe they know they are misleading the public by suggesting anything goes after the filters are disabled upon request?

Maybe. I don't know. But the librarians didn't know about a rape in their own library. That is unbelievable. And if it is ever determined that library policy is based on American Library Association [ALA] policy instead of on the law, and if that contributed to the rape in any way, then the resulting lawsuit damages may be unbelievable as well.

I urge the police to make a thorough examination, including all computer logs and possible security tapes. Oh, that's right, the library destroys such records to skirt another law, the USA PATRIOT Act, again following the ALA's lead. Recall Rudolph W. Giuliani decried the actions of the ALA regarding this law in 2005. So with the records destroyed, I guess Brooklyn need not worry about legal liability after all.

Fact Checking:
"Taking Liberties With the Nation's Security," The New York Times, 17 Dec 2005, p.A23, by former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. See:
http://www.safelibraries.org/taking_liberties_with_the_nations_security17dec2005by_rudolph_w_giuliani.html

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/legal/patriot.jsp

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/legal/internet-faq.jsp
And while I'm writing about how the ALA drives local policy in New York City, here's an inspiring example that when the people find out, they rid themselves of the ALA's influence. You see, the ALA listed a certain s3xually inappropriate book in a top ten list (ALA | Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers), and as a likely result, a librarian ordered that book for hundreds of New York City schools. Then the parents found out. See "City's Ed. Boobs," by Carl Campanile, New York Post, Oct. 13, 2003. You won't be disappointed.

3 comments:

  1. I am having an impossible time finding any reference to this incident with a source other than The Brooklyn Paper. Have you come across anything in your research? I'm a little uncomfortable with using an article with 2 unnamed sources - one that contradicts the other - as resources. Want to be sure to look before I leap again.

    Thanks in advance!

    -H

    ReplyDelete
  2. huh - for some reason, this didn't work the first time - sorry

    Thanks, but what I am looking for is info that backs up Gersh Kuntzman's article. I was hoping you had better luck tha I verifying it. Sorry I wasn't clear.

    -H

    ReplyDelete

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