Rolf Harris - Arrested

[mikem8634]

Shannon Mathews springs to mind the Mcanns were inundated with contributions and Mathews thought ..Ill have some of that..Did she jump on the McAnn bandwagon by any chance ?

 

I did not say that bandwagon jumping does not happen, as you well know. I said that bringing it into every conversation about belated allegations contributes to more silence and, therefore, perpetuates the vicious cycle.

 

If you wish to criticise bandwagon jumpers whose only motives are financial then at least have the basic decency and awareness to wait until you know who they are rather than just doing your best to make the lives of those who have genuinely endured terrible things just that little bit worse.

[frank ryan]

I did not say that bandwagon jumping does not happen, as you well know. I said that bringing it into every conversation about belated allegations contributes to more silence and, therefore, perpetuates the vicious cycle.

 

If you wish to criticise bandwagon jumpers whose only motives are financial then at least have the basic decency and awareness to wait until you know who they are rather than just doing your best to make the lives of those who have genuinely endured terrible things just that little bit worse.

 

exactly mike.

[Glamrocker]

I did not say that bandwagon jumping does not happen, as you well know. I said that bringing it into every conversation about belated allegations contributes to more silence and, therefore, perpetuates the vicious cycle.

 

If you wish to criticise bandwagon jumpers whose only motives are financial then at least have the basic decency and awareness to wait until you know who they are rather than just doing your best to make the lives of those who have genuinely endured terrible things just that little bit worse.

It also makes it much worse for the person accused ,it doesnt matter if Harris ,Le vell etc are found innocent of all charges s**t sticks and their public lives at least will be over.. there's victims on both sides, what do we do , just ignore false accusations ? Its very easy when youre in the public eye to be targetted ,its funny of all the names thats been bandied about theres no no- marks in the frame

[Halibut]

exactly mike.

 

Quite so. Good posting.

[ANGELFIRE1]

My worry is how can any of these allegations be proved in a court of law, especially those from 40/50 years ago, unless there is photographic evidence to show the alleged complaint took place.

 

I can see many thousands of pounds getting spent on these cases, only for them to be thrown out of court for lack of evidence.

 

What about the "celebrity" in all this, I assume poop sticks, and their status in society will never be regained, even if taken to court and found innocent.

 

If found guilty, I hope the maximum sentence would be imposed of course, and their "celebrity" status not taken into account.

 

Angel.

[nikita]

can I just note that I opened a rolf arrested thread several weeks ago and it was removed - I now feel vindicated.

 

I accept that the joke about 2 little boys & a tied down kangaroo was a bit OTT mind

 

Well it wasnt funny then and its not funny now..

[mikem8634]

It also makes it much worse for the person accused ,it doesnt matter if Harris ,Le vell etc are found innocent of all charges s**t sticks and their public lives at least will be over.. there's victims on both sides, what do we do , just ignore false accusations ? Its very easy when youre in the public eye to be targetted ,its funny of all the names thats been bandied about theres no no- marks in the frame

 

I agree that there are victims of false allegations that also require, and have a right to, protection. The way to achieve that, however, is not to smear every allegation made before it is investigated just in case it may be false.

 

The way to achieve that is to not release names unless and until enough evidence has been found to issue a charge.

[frank ryan]

Well it wasnt funny then and its not funny now..

 

fair do's -

[poppet2]

Whatever our reaction to the man or the allegations, the most significant thing to bear in mind is that he has neither been convicted nor even charged with any offence.

 

Unless and until he is, enough of the prurient speculation.

 

If you take the 'No smoke without fire' approach to (alleged) crime, you are sinking to the level of the Daily Fail and repressive political regimes where rumour and unsubstantiated accusations determine what happens to people, either in terms of their reputation, or physically.

 

Very true. Surely such irresponsible speculation by the media at this stage could indeed prejudice the verdict, if such cases are ever brought to court.

How can a fair trial be expected with trial by media taking place in the press?

[redfox]

Perhaps the discussion should move from simply one about "celebrity" allegations to the problems generally in bringing and succeeding in a prosecution when 'sex' is involved. It is a very easy allegation to bring and not the easiest to defeat - the no smoke without fire observation. Invariably such incidents take place in private, not where there are crowds of people nor CCTV cameras recording it, there are therefore only 2 people who know the truth. The fact such offences only come to light many years after is hardly surprising in many cases where there are 'family' members involved or 'celebrity' - who would believe jane doe over Mr or Mrs celebrity - there just after the compo etc ....