Kyle Payne Update… August 26, 2008 Ren Kyle Payne, remember him? The “feminist” man who assaulted a student under his supervision? Guess what? h/t to Lisa and Hoyden About Town
I’ll say what I said over at Cara’s. I’m both thrilled and saddened. I’m thrilled that he received jail time period. We all know the statistics on sexual assault and apparently there wasn’t sufficient evidence to bring a sexual assault case. Not to mention he is now a felon. That’s a big deal. He’s going to have to explain at every job interview why he is a convicted felon. He is not likely to ever be licensed by the state to engage in any number of professions, particularly since it an attempted burglary conviction. And he is on parole. Plus, god forbid, if he does commit another sexual assault he will be going back to jail to serve out his full term, which will hopeful be a disincentive to do it again. All those things are good. What’s bad, is that this woman was sexually assaulted and he is not being held accountable for that sexual assault. Instead he’s being held accountable for attempted burglary and invasion of privacy. The prosecution had photographic and videographic evidence of this sexual assault and STILL s/he didn’t push for that charge. What does it take? What on earth does it take to find someone guilty of sexual assault if photo
Payne spoke briefly in his own defense, apologizing to the victim and her family and promising “to make changes in my life so it doesn’t happen again.” He then sobbed openly. he is lucky I wasn’t the judge I would have given him something to really cry about. 6 months is easy time considering his victim will have to live with what he did to her for the rest of her life.
Kristen: Minor correction here. “We all know the statistics on sexual assault and apparently there wasn’t sufficient evidence to bring a sexual assault case.” He was originally charged with sexual assault. He got a plea bargain that enabled him to avoid those charges. A plea bargain doesn’t usually mean there wasn’t “sufficient evidence.”
Also, I’m glad to see that those asinine blog posts hurt him and that the attorney saw the “narcissistic tendencies” for what they were.
“He was originally charged with sexual assault. He got a plea bargain that enabled him to avoid those charges. A plea bargain doesn’t usually mean there wasn’t “sufficient evidence.”” It means the prosecution didn’t think they could win. They didn’t have to plead this case down. They decided going forward was not worth the risk/cost. If they and his defense had thought it was a slam dunk, he’d be a registered sex offender right now instead of just a felon.
What Kristen said, pretty much all of it. And yeah, I’m with the victim’s mother: apology -not- accepted, stuff your tears.
also, per plea bargain, from the Iowa Independent article: “This is the type of thing that happens, but not to you,” said the victim as she read a pre-prepared impact statement in court today. “… You might be given jail time, but for me this is like a life sentence.” She added that since she was unconscious, Payne is the only person who truly knows what happened that night and left the implication hanging that there might have been more to the event than him partially undressing her, touching her inappropriately and shooting photographs and video.”
It means the prosecution didn’t think they could win. I think it means something much worse. You mention cost, and I’d guess that’s more what it was about. It’s not about the risk of the case or that they couldn’t win, it’s that they decided it wasn’t worth it to pursue that if they could just get this done and over with. From the article: she read a pre-prepared impact statement Totally OT, but what, exactly, is a “pre-prepared” statement?
“pre-prepared” statement is a sign of a reporter who drove over four hours on little sleep to attend the hearing, then found a not-so-stable WiFi connect on the way home to quickly file the story. Sorry about that, I’ll get it fixed now.
I guess I echo everyone else. His comfortable life is over; he’s going to jail and will live his life as a convicted felon. And his whining got him nothing. That’s good. But what was the problem with top-count? Did the prosecutor think the jury would be too synmpathetic, even with the photos and video? Or did they just want to plead it down to limit the consequences for him? If the latter, hell with them. If the former … well, the problem with the criminal justice system is that juries and judges replicate subsets of society’s prejudices, and neither are particularly good for sexual assault prosecutions. That has always been infuriating. That continues to be infuriating. It will be infuriating until there is a generation from which the juries will convict rapists, even when they are white, affluent, well-spoken boys-next-door.
Roy, Presumably if they had an airtight case they could have negotiated on the sentence or on the lesser charges. Its a question of bargaining position. If you had someone on video murdering another person…you might plead it down to manslaughter, but you aren’t going to agree to an assault plea.
this may make me a terrible mean hateful person, but hearing that he cried filled me with incredible joy, i even squee’d in bliss. dudes like him have made girls like me cry so many times, that its good to see reciprocity. i hope he cries the whole 6 months.
A week to get his affairs in order? WHAT? In these parts, you get taken away FORTHWITH, like, right now. Hope he doesn’t try to run, but if he does, you read it here first. (I mean, his career as Feminist-Man-Who-Cares is obviously over, so what is he gonna do now?)
Daisy, what’s he gonna do now? At the risk of getting flamed, I’m for suicide. I’ll even say that I’ll believe he’s truly sorry for what he did if he kills himself (It could also be the ultimate act of self-pity, but as an inducement, I’ll promise to proclaim my belief that it is an act of penance). He has betrayed the victim, himself, and everything he ever said he believed in. Nothing he does can ever redeem him. So he might as well go. In the alternative, he can live a quiet, humble, self-sacrificing life of minimal existence and volunteering; something that keeps him away from women he might target, a chaste, ascetic, penitent existence, never seeking credit or absolution, until he dies a natural death. But I don’t believe he’s got the backbone for that.
Advocating suicide or talking about it as an “option” like it’s nothing more than a career change… makes me uncomfortable. Even when talking about someone as DISGUSTING as this guy. This guy has family too and while what he did is beyond evil …. I just don’t think we should throw out “suicide” so cavalierly.
Tobes, I’m a rape survivor and, while I will spend the rest of my life dealing with what was done to me, my abusers are happily living their lives. This has nothing to do with a “career change” and everything to do with what he deserves. Ideally, he wouldn’t have to do it to himself but it seems the system isn’t willing to punish him as I wish it would, so I’m willing to settle.
“This case has provided an extremely necessary wake-up call as I learn how to make responsible decisions, how to hold myself accountable for wrongdoings, and most importantly, how to act in accordance with my own professed values and beliefs.” I hope he means “within the context of my severe mental disorder”, because otherwise… he has to learn how to not assault women? What?
From the mouth of a sexual assault victim, fuck Kyle Payne. Dude should have six years, six decades in jail, followed by ten years of probation and sex offender status. Fuck him. People found with six grams of marijuana are given more time than people who hurt people. Fuck Kyle Payne. Just desserts, and unjust desserts. Fuck him.
Screw you, Kyle Payne. Didn’t believe you were repentant for a second. Your so-called “statement” pretty much cinched it. But, even as a survivor, I would never advocate suicide. Couldn’t even go there. Raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Boje moi.
To all the women and men who have survived sexual assault, I do not pressume to know where you come from. I just come from a place of knowing what suicide does to families. And I don’t want anyone to take their own life. He should have been punished more severely. Our criminal justice system is too broken. I second Lauren– when six grams of marijuana is considered more dangerous than people who will assault others… we have a serious problem