Judge Grants Bail to 3 in Rape Case That Divided Rhode Island Town Emily Shugerman © Provided by The Daily Beast Brian Turner/Wikimedia Commons
A Rhode Island judge is allowing three young men to return home in a rape case that has divided the small town of South Kingstown, saying their continued pre-trial detention was “neither justified nor justifiable.”
The case centers on the events of March 1 and 2, where the three men and one juvenile, who was released on bail earlier this month, met up with a former classmate for a night of drinking. The 19-year-old former classmate claims she quickly blacked out and does not remember the sexual conduct that followed. Lawyers for the accused say she was a consenting participant in the acts, even if she cannot remember them.
Judge Grants Bail to 3 in Rape Case That Divided Rhode Island Town
msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Judge Grants Bail to 3 in Rape Case That Divided Rhode Island Town
msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
(A 16-year-old juvenile male was released in Family Court after the state dropped its objections.)
The Providence Journal is not naming the woman because she is the alleged victim of a sexual assault.
But state prosecutors argue that the men should remain behind bars, that videos show them taking advantage of a woman unresponsive and unable to care for herself.
“You think they don’t know this? … How can they not know this?” Assistant Attorney General Mark Trovato said in slowing down the images clip by clip while the defendants and their families observed.
“When she needed to be protected, they took advantage of her,” Trovato continued in urging that the men be held as a danger to the community.