Wow... truth is stranger than fiction - "Could this be happening? A man's nightmare made real"

[astro]

LA Times story part 1

Could this be happening? A man's nightmare made real

If you can't wait for Tuesday's installment here's what finally happened.

The sky was beautiful that afternoon. Louis Gonzalez III remembered it felt like spring.

He was standing on the sidewalk outside the Simi Valley Montessori School, having just flown in from Las Vegas, hoping to get a look at his 5-year-old son's new kindergarten. Standing there, waiting for the door to open so he could scoop the boy up in his arms and fly him to Nevada for the weekend.

The first officer arrived on a motorcycle and headed straight for him. He did not explain the charges as he snapped on the handcuffs. As Gonzalez stood there stunned, he noticed little faces pressed against the schoolhouse glass, watching, and asked if he could be moved just a bit so his son didn't have to see.

[Moonlitherial]

Holy cow that is one vindictive woman.

[Mosier]

I don't like posts that don't even really hint at what the topic is about.

[Freudian Slit]

They both sound pretty terrible.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Moonlitherial

Holy cow that is one vindictive woman.

Whenever I read something like this it always reminds me of a comment I over heard someone say back in high school. "When a woman accuses someone of rape and it turns out she was lying, she should have to take whatever punishment he would have received because that kind of thing can ruin the rest of his life"

Now, I know something like this could never work for a quite a few reasons (that I'm not looking to discuss in this thread), but I always liked the theory.

[Freudian Slit]

Didn't read all the article but how'd she tie herself up?

[Sierra Indigo]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Didn't read all the article but how'd she tie herself up?

It doesn't say. Neither does the second article. I presume the "hows" of the case are in part two.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Didn't read all the article but how'd she tie herself up?

Her husband was in on it. At least I'm assuming that based on "The lawsuit names West and her husband, Timothy Geiges, who is accused of helping her concoct the false story of rape and brutality"

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Good outcome, and I agree that the false accusation should be a criminal offense, but only if really persuasive evidence exists that the accuser is knowingly lying. This case appears to meet that standard. I hope this guy gets custody of the kid and every cent he's got coming to him. Rape is a hard enough crime to prosecute without bitches like this casting doubt on legitimate victims.

The headlines should also be just as big when an accused person is exonerated (not just not convicted, but actually determned to be "factually innocent" as this judge concluded) as they are when he's accused

[GreedySmurf]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

They both sound pretty terrible.

How so?

I realise the article was obviously written taking the blokes side, but potentially biased journalism aside and not knowing anyone involved I fail to see how you can detemrine that he sounds as bad as the woman involved?

I hope his civil case is a roaring success. Not that he'll get much from her, but hopefully he can at least get primary custody of the child.

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by GreedySmurf

How so?

I realise the article was obviously written taking the blokes side, but potentially biased journalism aside and not knowing anyone involved I fail to see how you can detemrine that he sounds as bad as the woman involved?

Well there's this

In her fourth month of pregnancy, West met Gonzalez at a Denny's in Vegas. According to a police report, she said he became upset because she wouldn't go back to him. She said he slapped her and punched her stomach.

Gonzalez's version: They had gotten back together, and argued because she was seeing another man and lying about it. He admitted to breaking her windshield, but only after she "went nuts hitting him," the police report said. He was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. The charge was dropped.

I'm willing to bet this isn't the only time one of them has laid a hand on the other in anger, it's probably the only time it's happened in public.

[GreedySmurf]

Originally Posted by Diogenes the Cynic

The headlines should also be just as big when an accused person is exonerated (not just not convicted, but actually determned to be "factually innocent" as this judge concluded) as they are when he's accused

Excuse my ignorance of US law, but presumably having a judge rule you are "factually innocent" is a specific statement that he was 100% innocent of the charges, as opposed to say there being insuffeceint evidence, or a simple statement of charges were dropped?

I wonder if he gets a certified letter or something to that effect? I'm serious, what if he went back to his employer and said here you go. Didn't do it, any chance of my job back?

[GreedySmurf]

Originally Posted by Joey P

Well there's this

I'm willing to bet this isn't the only time one of them has laid a hand on the other in anger, it's probably the only time it's happened in public.

Based on her displayed behaviour, personally I'm willing to accept his version of those events.

Willing to accept that there's probably been a lot go on behind closed doors, but these actions by the woman are so far beyond the pale that unless he was physically abusive he in no way is anywhere near as bad as her. And I see nothing to suggest that he was.

Obviously just my opinion, but this woman was willing to see him go to jail for the rest of his life just to be nasty and presumably to make sure she has sole custody.

[Roderick Femm]

Originally Posted by Joey P

Well there's this

I'm willing to bet this isn't the only time one of them has laid a hand on the other in anger, it's probably the only time it's happened in public.

Since she's pretty much a proven liar, I think it's reasonable to give greater credence to him in this situation. If he had punched her in the stomach, I would think (although I am no expert) that there would be enough evidence of that after the fact such that the domestic violence charge would not have been dropped so easily.

[Joey P]

I'm not defending either of them, I'm just pointing out what FS was probably basing the "They both sound pretty terrible" comment on.

[panache45]

I'm surprised she can still get unsupervised visitation of the kid. But glad to know he's doing ok.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by panache45

I'm surprised she can still get unsupervised visitation of the kid. But glad to know he's doing ok.

Yeah, my assumption would be that if she thinks she'll have no other way to harm her ex soon, she might take it out on their son.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by Joey P

Well there's this

I'm willing to bet this isn't the only time one of them has laid a hand on the other in anger, it's probably the only time it's happened in public.

Yeah, that's what I meant. He's the kind of guy who'd hit her, she's the kind who'd lie about it...they sound meant to be.

[Autolycus]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Yeah, that's what I meant. He's the kind of guy who'd hit her, she's the kind who'd lie about it...they sound meant to be.

While I grant he doesn't sound like a saint among men, from this story we know a few things happened:

He hit her windshield in anger.

She knowingly lied about him raping and torturing her in an attempt to ruin his life forever and gain sole custody of her child.

While neither action is that of an enlightened being, I find equivocating the two characters to be offensive and possibly more. Maybe I'm misreading the intent of your post here.

[Freudian Slit]

Well, she also said he hit her, though I guess we don't know if that really happened.

If his story that all he did was hit her windshield, I don't think those actions are equivalent. Just that they both sound very low class, trashy types.

[Autolycus]

At least the kid sounds like he's doing good through all of this.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Well, she also said he hit her,

She also said that he knocked her unconscious, bound her, broke her collar bone, and raped her. She's a lying sack of shit. I wouldn't give her words any weight at all.

[Euphonious Polemic]

She should get jail time at least equivalent to the time he had to put in. She should not have any custody of the child, supervised or not, as she has been proven to be dangerously vindictive.

[kushiel]

The only visitation that bitch should be having with her son is when he comes to see her in prison.

She set him up for a crime that he could have served 5 life sentences on! This wasn't one report of him punching her, this was an accusation of brutal rape!

I read the part about the meeting at Denny's - if he abused her, he should serve the time for that. But as soon as rape enters the picture, he's ruined. Neither article mentions if he got his job back.

I don't understand how he's still fighting for sole custody of the kid. I'm against one parent poisoning the kid against another, but I sure hope when this kid is 15 someone tells him how his loving mommy tried to put his daddy behind bars forever by a false rape accusation.

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by tdn

She also said that he knocked her unconscious, bound her, broke her collar bone, and raped her. She's a lying sack of shit. I wouldn't give her words any weight at all.

I would bet good money, considering that she was (allegedly) willing to go through simulating a brutal rape that involved at least abrasions to her vaginal and anal areas, as well as a busted lip, lasting ligature marks, etc., that any bruising she may have previously suffered may well have been self-inflicted.

[lavenderviolet]

Originally Posted by kushiel

I don't understand how he's still fighting for sole custody of the kid. I'm against one parent poisoning the kid against another, but I sure hope when this kid is 15 someone tells him how his loving mommy tried to put his daddy behind bars forever by a false rape accusation.

Even though I am female, it seems from my observations of guys who have gone through divorces like there is a tremendous amount of bias against fathers in the child custody system. People have a hard time letting go of their stereotypes that women are natural nurturers and that of course the child is better off with their mom even if there is considerable evident that she is very unstable or dangerous. There are a lot of shitty dads out there who don't care about their kids, but I do wonder if we contribute to that problem by acting like mothers are the only parents that really matter.

The evil genius of this woman's plan is that she realizes that people are very reluctant to call BS on someone's allegations of things like rape and domestic violence. Even if there is absolutely no proof, most compassionate people err on the side of believing rape victims because nobody wants to be the asshole who told a genuine victim that they were lying. I really don't have a good answer for how to balance the need to make sure that genuine rape/abuse victims are given a fair chance to be heard and believed vs. keeping anti-social predators like this woman from destroying innocent people's lives.

[Euphonious Polemic]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

They both sound pretty terrible.

Scenario:

Someone jaywalks across a street, and then gets brutally mugged and beaten.

Both of those folks sound pretty terrible too. Imagine! Jaywalking!

[BigFred]

When O.J. was being prosecuted and people were up in arms over violence against women (as we should be) a guest editorial in USA Today by an officer of NOW quoted some interesting statistics to provide some balance and perspective:

-- Women initiate violence more frequently than men.
-- Violence by women tends to do more damage because they use objects such as irons, frying pans, etc.

People are people. There are people who do bad and people who do good of all races and both genders.

[Brunhilda]

I would be inclined to give him a pass on the windshield -- he may have been keeping himself from hitting her!

[EvilTOJ]

As someone who was sent to jail because of a vindictive ex, I hope this bitch burns and she loses every cent she has.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by EvilTOJ

As someone who was sent to jail because of a vindictive ex

Did you start a thread about that?

[EvilTOJ]

No, and it was years ago. I guess I could, but I don't wanna

[Tom Tildrum]

At this point, I'd be willing to believe that what actually happened was that she rammed him with her car and "he broke her windshield" with his body.

[Mighty_Girl]

Originally Posted by tdn

She also said that he knocked her unconscious, bound her, broke her collar bone, and raped her. She's a lying sack of shit. I wouldn't give her words any weight at all.

This.

At this point I would not believe her if she told me the sky is blue. I am a woman, but this bitch needs to see the inside of a jail at least for a while. She was using the state as a weapon against his ex and was willing to keep him locked up for the rest of his life. That is not different from actually kidnapping somebody at gunpoint and never letting them go, if not worse.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by Euphonious Polemic

Scenario:

Someone jaywalks across a street, and then gets brutally mugged and beaten.

Both of those folks sound pretty terrible too. Imagine! Jaywalking!

I just think the kind of guy who would break a windshield in anger sounds like he could very well have been violent. She could have been lying about the other thing, too--I just don't think it's so inconceivable that he's also abusive.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I just think the kind of guy who would break a windshield in anger sounds like he could very well have been violent. She could have been lying about the other thing, too--I just don't think it's so inconceivable that he's also abusive.

This is one of the worst things about accusations like this. Even though he was proven innocent, people are still going to think bad things about him.

[wisernow]

I am more perturbed by the fact that he was denied bail and remanded to custody in jail based solely on the statement of the alleged victim, with no other supporting material evidence and also the fact that the defendant had no significant previous criminal record that would indicate a personality prone to such violence.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by tdn

This is one of the worst things about accusations like this. Even though he was proven innocent, people are still going to think bad things about him.

I'm not thinking bad things about him because of the accusation--I'm thinking based on what he's actually done. A guy who reacts by smashing a windshield in anger sounds like kind of a thug--I can definitely picture him doing something violent.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I'm not thinking bad things about him because of the accusation--I'm thinking based on what he's actually done. A guy who reacts by smashing a windshield in anger sounds like kind of a thug--I can definitely picture him doing something violent.

OK, I get that. But he said it was only after she repeatedly hit him. And charges were dropped. I'm not inclined to think that he was violent as a rule.

[jlzania]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I'm not thinking bad things about him because of the accusation--I'm thinking based on what he's actually done. A guy who reacts by smashing a windshield in anger sounds like kind of a thug--I can definitely picture him doing something violent.

Or perhaps he's a normal human being that was terribly provoked but directed his anger at an object rather than the person that pissed him off.

[Mississippienne]

As a woman, and as a sexual assault and abuse survivor, I am appalled by this West woman's behavior. If I believed in such things, I'd hope she'd burn in Hell. This vindictive, evil person's false accusations not only almost destroyed Gonsalez's life, but also exploited the plight of real rape victims. How many people, after hearing what West did, are gonna look askance at the next woman who says she was raped? Just the fact that she would do something like this so callously, to satisfy her own selfish desires, takes my breath away.

West is an absolute failure of a human being.

[astro]

Second half of the story. Lot more details than the synopsis in the OP.

In this assault case, the puzzle pieces don't fit
A detective can find nothing to place Las Vegas banker Louis Gonzalez III at the scene of a vicious attack at his ex-girlfriend's house in 2008.

[Princhester]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

They both sound pretty terrible.

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Didn't read all the article but how'd she tie herself up?

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Yeah, that's what I meant. He's the kind of guy who'd hit her, she's the kind who'd lie about it...they sound meant to be.

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Well, she also said he hit her, though I guess we don't know if that really happened.

If his story that all he did was hit her windshield, I don't think those actions are equivalent. Just that they both sound very low class, trashy types.

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I just think the kind of guy who would break a windshield in anger sounds like he could very well have been violent. She could have been lying about the other thing, too--I just don't think it's so inconceivable that he's also abusive.

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I'm not thinking bad things about him because of the accusation--I'm thinking based on what he's actually done. A guy who reacts by smashing a windshield in anger sounds like kind of a thug--I can definitely picture him doing something violent.

Riiiight. So first they both sound pretty terrible, then you admit you haven't actually read the story, then when you are called on your initial statement you say that what you meant was that he's the type of guy who'd hit her, then when you are called on that you say that the type of guy who would break a windshield might not so inconceivably be abusive (gosh, you're right, you might not inconceivably be abusive either), and then we learn that at this point in the game your thinking is "based on" him smashing a windshield.

And we have always been at war with Eastasia.

Even West could get her story straighter than you. Right now I'm thinking tdn is right on the money. You jumped straight into an assumption and you have been backing and filling to try to justify your assumption ever since.

[Zebra]

Thanks Princhester,

I was going to do the same thing with all of his posts but I'm glad you beat me to it.



Of course the kind of person who would beat me to that is probably an abusive jerk.

[Princhester]

Well, you said the word "beat". We both sound pretty terrible.

[PunditLisa]

My BIL's ex-wife mounted a viscous campaign against him in her zeal to win custody of her kids back. She ultimately prevailed, even though:

a) Their marriage ended when she left him, and their 3 kids, for a man she met on the internet. One day he came home to find her with her bags packed. She declared that their marriage was over, that she'd found the love of her life, someone who "got" her, and that she was going to California to be with him. No mention of the kids. She returned within a week when she discovered that her internet lover was a woman posing as a man.

Honestly, you can't make this shit up.

b) After their divorce, his ex-wife decided she wanted him back once he started seriously dating my SIL. She tried to seduce him, and when he didn't fall for it, she flipped out and attempted suicide. (She called him and said that she'd taken a bunch of pills.) When even that failed to get him to return to her, she wrote him an email telling him to come get the kids because she needed to start focusing on HERSELF for a change. So he came and got the kids, and kept them for nearly a year while continuing to pay child support to her.

c) After filing a motion to change him to the primary custodian, which would also stop the child support checks she was living on (she was unemployed), she suddenly decided that she loved the kids and wanted them back. And she was going to get them back come hell or high water. She started her campaign with a series of calls to CPS complaining that she feared that he was molesting/abusing his son. That resulted in 3 visits from a social worker to their home.

d) She called the kids' teachers and asked them to pay special attention to her kids and to document any signs of trauma or abuse because she feared he was harming them, mentally and physically. She also told the school that she had court documents listing her as the primary custodian, and that if he tried to pick up the kids, as he'd done for years if they had baseball/soccer practice after school, he was to be arrested.

e) In the meantime she married a guy who was subsequently fired and sued by his ex-employer for filling out, and pocketing, fraudulent car rebates. As a result, neither of them had jobs.

f) Her own father wrote a letter to the mediator telling her that he thought his daughter was unstable.

In her findings, the court-appointed psychiatrist wrote that the father seemed "bitter" and that mother seemed "sincere." She believed that the kids should return to their mother. End result was that the kids were ripped out of the stable home and placed back with their fruit loop mother and her new free-loading husband. The guy who had been decent and stable and loving the entire time was left paying tens of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees for making the mistake of fighting her.

In an amusing follow-up, it's been five or so years since the kids went to live with their mother. The two oldest kids are out of the house and over 18. So the ex-wife is left with the troubled son. Recently, she had the audacity to call her ex-husband and ask him to take custody of him because she couldn't handle him anymore. He said, "You're asking the guy who molested your son to take him back?" Her response, "Don't be ridiculous. I did what I had to do to get my kids back."

[Freudian Slit]

I just don't think it's such a stretch that he's also been abusive in the past. Smashing a car windshield qualifies as intimidating, abusive behavior to me. But if it makes you guys feel better, she's a lying sack of shit, etc., etc.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

I just don't think it's such a stretch that he's also been abusive in the past. Smashing a car windshield qualifies as intimidating, abusive behavior to me. But if it makes you guys feel better, she's a lying sack of shit, etc., etc.

Yeah, it pretty much makes me feel better.

Does it make you feel better to blame the victim?

[Freudian Slit]

I'm not blaming him for this fake rape attempt. I'm just pointing out that they both seem to be people of questionable character. It makes sense that they were together, that's all.

[tdn]

You still haven't read the article, have you?