I have been writing about the rape culture for 11 years, and this is, perhaps, the most egregious example of disbelieving a victim in favor of believing a rapist, no matter how absurd his story, that I have ever seen—which is really saying something.
Ehsan Abdulaziz, a Saudi millionaire property developer, was cleared of rape charges in London this week after he claimed that he had tripped and fallen on an 18-year-old girl who was sleeping at his apartment after partying with him, penetrating her by accident.I don't even have words. All I have is a primal howl of grief and injustice.
...Abdulaziz had already had sex with the 18-year-old's friend and he said his penis might have been poking out of his underwear when he happened upon the young woman sleeping off a night of drinking. The millionaire accounted for his DNA being found in the woman's vagina because she had allegedly seduced him when he was offering her a T-shirt or a taxi ride home. He also said that he had semen on his hands from having sex with the woman's friend earlier. In court, Abdulaziz maintained his innocence, saying, "I'm fragile, I fell down but nothing ever happened, between me and this girl nothing ever happened."
A jury reportedly deliberated for only 30 minutes before acquitting Abdulaziz of one count of rape.
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