Neither Forgotten nor Forgiven

By Antonio M. Lewis, Senior

 

 

Cincinnati, OH – July 28, 1997 Cincinnati Police are investigating the abduction and rape of a 24-year-old African American pregnant female. The victim was walking home after the Coors Light Riverfront Musical Festival, and seeing that she was pregnant two white men asked her if she would like a ride home. The young lady accepted their offer, but when she told them where she lived, they went the opposite direction.

 

The perpetrators then took Interstate 75 North. Now the passenger pulled out a knife and climbed into the back seat with the young lady while at the same time exposing his penis to her. He then held the knife to her throat and proceeded to rape her. After the passenger finished his vile act he climbed back into the front seat and took the wheel from the driver who then climbed in back and raped the victim. The men then proceeded to Springfield Township where they pushed the victim out of a slow moving car, and Hamilton County Sheriff Deputies later found her.

 

The Cincinnati Police have an excellent description of the suspects and even have the license plate number, which was ascertained from 15 eyewitnesses along the Interstate. To date the Cincinnati Police department has failed to interview these men stating, “…we do not wish to alert the suspects that we are onto them….”

 

The above story is one that I reported almost three years ago and to this very day the police department along with Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen refuse to interview or to bring charges against these vile individuals. According to several police sources within the department, the men are hiding behind the reputations of their fathers. One of the perpetrator’s fathers happens to be a police officer and the other a wealthy local businessman. The Nation of Islam, the Urban League, and NAACP of Cincinnati all have tried to no avail to have the matter brought before the courts.

 

An act of non-action on the part of law enforcement is a sad commentary on the state of local enforcement agencies and relations with the African American community at large. This should come as no surprise; Cincinnati is the seventh most segregated city in America, as People of Color have never been able to get “equal protection under the law” from criminals. The bigger issue is the perceived view held by many in the community that law enforcement fear if they were to prosecute, they would create a greater strain on race relations.

 

Such sentiment may be well founded, but it is no excuse for not bringing justice to a young lady whose life has been changed forever. It is no excuse for not applying the equal protection under the law clause of the 14^th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Until such a time comes, the Cincinnati Police Department and County Prosecutor Mike Allen are just as guilty of rape as the two rapists are.