MI - Three Men Charged with Rape as Woman's Child Begged Them to Stop

Tizzle

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Alleged sex victim's kids were home
Three men charged, jailed for Hastings assault

HASTINGS, Mich. (WOOD) - Three men were charged Tuesday for an alleged sexual assault against a woman whose children were home at the time of the incident.

The suspects -- Dorance Hoffman, 28; Scott Smith, 32; and Shaun Engle -- have been arraigned and are being held at the Barry County jail, Hastings police chief Jerry Sarver told 24 Hour News 8.

The alleged incident happened Nov. 14 in a home on the 600 block of Hannah Lane. The 28-year-old victim said she knew the suspects through her ex-husband's family, and said all three men locked her in a bedroom and sexually assaulted her, according to police.


http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/gun_lake_region/Alleged-sex-victims-kids-were-home

Also:
http://www.wwmt.com/articles/outside-1371577-door-0in.html

http://www.fox17online.com/news/fox17-hastings-police-three-men-charged,0,2997835.story

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/01/three_men_arrested_for_sexuall.html
 
I'm speechless....
 
Oh my frippen goodness sakes. And these "men" were introduced to her by her ex's family? This poor family. I hope they get the help they need to deal with this.
 
Oh my frippen goodness sakes. And these "men" were introduced to her by her ex's family? This poor family. I hope they get the help they need to deal with this.

Yeah, pretty sad. I can't imagine, as a child, witnessing something like this happening to my mom. I don't think I could ever get over it. These guys need to spend the rest of their pathetic days behind bars. They need not be given the chance to ruin more lives.

I wonder what her relationship is like with the ex and his fam? What brought these guys around all of a sudden if she only knew them from her ex? What made them suddenly decide they needed to go to this woman's apartment, lock her in her bedroom and rape her with her child on the other side of the door pleading with them to stop?
 
I am so sad for this family. I cannot even imagine what they are going through. I hope they all receive counseling and can began to heal after all this.
 
Have any of you read the comments after the first news article link. Some of the family (mostly moms) of the three men accused are saying they're not guilty (of course they would say that), but one of the comments also states that the three men are only being held and haven't been charged with anything.
 
Have any of you read the comments after the first news article link. Some of the family (mostly moms) of the three men accused are saying they're not guilty (of course they would say that), but one of the comments also states that the three men are only being held and haven't been charged with anything.

I saw that too, but there are charges...just not convictions yet. That person's misinformed.

That poor child. I hope the questioning has been done with sensitivity, what an awful thing to have to relive.

I wonder about Hoffman being a repeat offender? How can those people in the comments be saying he's "not capable of this" if he's done it before??
 
Alleged victim testifies in brutal rape case

January 29, 2010 4:53 PM
HASTINGS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – In Barry County Court Friday, one of three men accused in the brutal home invasion and rape of a young mother faced a judge.

Dorrance Hoffman faces several charges, including first degree criminal sexual conduct.

Newschannel 3 was the only West Michigan television station in the courtroom as the alleged victim took the stand to testify on Friday.

The 28-year-old Hoffman sat, watched, and listened for more than an hour while his alleged victim described, in shocking detail, how he raped her in the bedroom of her apartment in November of 2009.



http://www.wwmt.com/articles/margin-1371984-bottom-victim.html
 
Is it just me being a little sensitive - or OK, grumpy because I don't feel well -- but since when did a rape survivor become an "alleged victim"????!!

I thought perps were "alleged rapists" but a victim was a victim was a victim!!

GAH!!!
 
Is it just me being a little sensitive - or OK, grumpy because I don't feel well -- but since when did a rape survivor become an "alleged victim"????!!

I thought perps were "alleged rapists" but a victim was a victim was a victim!!

GAH!!!

I thought the same exact thing, TM. Perhaps News3 was so concerned about making sure we all knew they were 'the only news crew in the courtroom' that they failed to think first and choose their words wisely. It goes back to the days of when a women would report being raped, SHE would be the one frowned upon. So sad.

I kind of get the feeling that the validity of the victim's story may be in question. In the video, the defense attorney suggests that she had "been with" the trio prior to this incident, to which she replies "it was forced". But even if it is believed by some that she is being dishonest, the News is not supposed to be biased in such a way. She is a victim unless/until proven otherwise and they are supposed to report it as such. And, in case you didn't notice, WOOD TV8 made the same blunder when the story broke. It's the first link in the thread. Ridiculous.

Unless I'm overly sensitive or grumpy, too. (Entirely possible) ;)
 
I thought the same exact thing, TM. Perhaps News3 was so concerned about making sure we all knew they were 'the only news crew in the courtroom' that they failed to think first and choose their words wisely. It goes back to the days of when a women would report being raped, SHE would be the one frowned upon. So sad.

I kind of get the feeling that the validity of the victim's story may be in question. In the video, the defense attorney suggests that she had "been with" the trio prior to this incident, to which she replies "it was forced". But even if it is believed by some that she is being dishonest, the News is not supposed to be biased in such a way. She is a victim unless/until proven otherwise and they are supposed to report it as such. And, in case you didn't notice, WOOD TV8 made the same blunder when the story broke. It's the first link in the thread. Ridiculous.

Unless I'm overly sensitive or grumpy, too. (Entirely possible) ;)

im glad im not the only one who got upset about 'alleged victim.'
maybe we should call the station an 'alleged news station'
 
I live in Michigan and there are some disturbing and common things about this case. The comments about them not having charges, yada yada, that is common for Michigan. The police here used to be very open with the citizens, and was a leader in community policing. Now, the only way that you learn the way the Michigan courts and police work is to go through the court system or a criminal justice program. This is not to say anything negative, they are just very closed agencies and the public does sometimes suffer for it.

The alleged victim statement from the papers is also common. The media here is rough on sexual assault victims. It isn't uncommon for Michigan papers to put out a story on a sexual assault and then run immediately after it, any of the things that the victim may have done wrong in her life.
For that reason, those that live here and don't ask questions will assume that the victim is lying or in the wrong, since it usually appears that way in our media.

Hastings is small, about 7000 people, and it's one of the more economically sound Michigan cities, but there is a lot of closed door partying. People don't go out and raise heck in the streets, but they do party hard at home. That is reflected in the statements in the first article, when the friend says she's partied with them and didn't think they could do it. That indicates to me that the victim was known to them through a party atmosphere, and all it would have taken was someone telling them she wanted to party with them...with the others there to egg each other on and the possibility that they may have already been intoxicated, especially if they were chronic partiers, I can see how it would have been easy to set her up as the perfect victim.
I hope there is help available to the kids, and the victim, but Michigan also happens to suck for victim advocacy and supportive care, so there may be nothing available to them without it coming out of pocket.

Sorry for the book, it turns out I had a lot of thoughts about this.
 

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