Just as an FYI, I had written to the author of the article to ask if she was willing to share her thought process regarding not pressing charges for Francis’ assault on her. Here’s what she had to say:
This may not be rape but this fellow deserves the same contempt you might show a college senior who habitually tries to get college freshmen drunk to have sex with them.
Szyszka went to the club knowing that GGW was filming. She dressed the part. She danced the part. She voluntarily walked on that bus, signed the waivers, took off her clothes and masturbated with a dildo in front of a camera crew… in exchange for nothing more than some GGW merchandise. Wow. Whatever dignity she had when she walked into the club that evening she voluntarily sold to the lowest bidder. FTR, I don’t believe she was raped any more than I believe that she was a virgin when she walked onto the GGW bus.
Of course, that does nothing to vindicate Frasier. He admitted to having ‘consensual’ sex with Szyszka and you’d be a fool to believe it was the first time he’d taken advantage of a young, stupid girl. Ick. Ick. Ick. Hope Szyszka has gotten herself tested.
Personally, I think they both got exactly what they were seeking. They make a great couple, really, like Bogey and Bacall. Without the talent. Or the respect.
As far as the reporter goes, I thought it was a great article.
I went to Ireland for a month when I was 15. We arrived Wednesday night; on Thursday night “my family” and the neighbors from across the street took me to a disco (I didn’t know that was illegal). They introduced me to “my Dad’s” boss, he asked me to dance with him, I did (it was a lot of people in a circle, no touching). They offered me alcohol, which I refused. At midnight, the national hymn came up, everybody saluted and the place closed. This guy tells me he’s taking me to his place. I say I’ve got no interest in going to his place, blablah… by the time he lets go of my hand and I turn around to where my party was sitting, they’d left.
There were cops outside. I could have asked them for a trip, right?
Maybe. But since the neighbor was a cop and since that very same day I’d been acussed of stealing just on grounds of being a foreigner, I didn’t dare. My word against a cop’s and a supermarket’s manager? Yeah right.
“My family” and the cop kept insisting that I should go to bed with that guy for a couple days, that “it’s perfectly normal”, until the cop’s wife (whom he’d met when she was a “bar girl” in Marbella… a job for which she’d had to get a hysterectomy) told them to leave me the hell be. Thank you, Eileen.
Nava, not sure how your experience is relevant to the reporter’s. She had no reason to distrust the cop nor was she young and powerless like you were. I suspect she didn’t say anything because she wanted the story.
Anyone can feel powerless in a situation like that, they don’t have to be young or stupid or weak. It’s presumptuous, and unrealistic, to assume that someone in the middle of an assault situation is able to rationally and logically determine the proper response in the moment. Haven’t you ever been in a car wreck or had a really big scare? How long did it take you to calm down and think clearly?
Here’s another example: in my early 20s, I got hit by a car while riding my bike. I was crossing the street in a crosswalk, with the light and I got conked by a car turning right. I was knocked off my bike and into the street. The guy stopped and helped me up. I didn’t seem to be hurt, but I was pretty shaken up. He kept saying he “didn’t see” me (in the crosswalk, crossing with the light). He had a car full of family, none of whom got out. He kept asking if I was okay. I was shaking all over. All I could think of was that I wanted to get out of there and go home. I ended up telling him it was okay, I was all right, it was my fault (?!). He got back in his car and sped off. This all happened in about 30 seconds.
After I stopped shaking, I tried getting back on my bike. Then I discovered the front wheel was bent, and I collapsed on the pavement in tears. Just then a pedestrian walked up to check if I was all right. “I saw the whole thing,” he said. “You had the right of way, that sonofabitch wasn’t looking.” It was only then that I realized that of course he was right. I had somehow felt guilty because I hadn’t looked before crossing the street (with the light, in the crosswalk), even though it was clearly the driver’s responsibility to do so. I was so freaked out I hadn’t thought to get the driver’s name or phone number in case I turned out to have an injury or a broken bike. I didn’t think to ask the driver for a ride home, or to stay with me until I got a ride, or any of the other things a “reasonable” person might expect.
The point being: when you’re in the middle of a traumatic, disorientating situation, it can be hard to recognize it as being so. And many people - young girls especially - tend to blame themselves when things don’t go the way they should, or simply want to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible so things can go back to “normal.” It is only after the benefit of time and a clear head, or an outside observer, to understand the full impact and psychological or physical consequences of what happened.
As for the reporter’s motivations for not pressing charges, see Asimovian’s post #121.
I didn’t say “stupid,” you did. And the reporter didn’t have to determine the proper response in the heat of the moment. She could have, and can still, pursue charges against him up until the statute of limitations has passed. Unlike you, she knows the man’s name, knows how to contact him, and, most importantly has a star witness, a police officer, who witnessed the whole thing. Of course, having him arrested would be mere icing on the cake for her because by recounting the incident in a national publication, she effectively crucified him (rightly or wrongly) without having to step foot into a courtroom.
Once again, respectfully, that is quite different than either your scenario or Nava’s.
That is essentially what I said: she wanted the story. If she pursued charges, she would have been unable to run the story.
Bah I can’t help it. Every time I read this thread title I hear it being said by Bette Davis as Jane Hudson. I realize this has nothing to do with the topic, but I had to share. 
I hear a young Katherine Hepburn, personally.
More on Mr. Francis. Or should I say Mr. Pled Guilty and Will Pay A $500,000 Fine?
I have done extensive, but mainly web based, research on Mr. Francis, not because I admire or loathe him, but because I was asked to. I have found that even before he was wealthy, he was an asshole. He settled one case where the manager of the apartment house he lived in miscarried after a weeks long barrage of harrassment from Mr. Francis because she allowed the maintenance people and trash collectors make too much noise in the morning.
Then there is the fact of the FCC finding against his company (he was sole owner) for subscribing customers to things without permission or even a warning.
Then there is the fact that he was found to have stolen the idea for banned from TV.
And then recenly he was fined $500K of his own money, plus more his company have to pay for his ergregious criminal misconduct including conduct you describe.
In the Rolling Stone interview and other places he admits to being lax in obtaining consent forms for all footage he used in videos he sold. The recent charges seem to indicate that this kind of thing has continued even though he claims to know better.
He has lost millions of dollars because he is an asshole, sometimes criminally so. I do not know how long he has been a pornographer, and indeed, I have nothing against pornographers who film properly consenting adults, but every thing I can find about him suggests he has been an asshole from the start.
Given that this thread’s title accuses him of being a rapist, I think it is highly relevant to point out that his guilty plea is to charges that he failed to keep required records of the ages of performers in his videos. He has NOT pled guilty to rape.
Also, I don’t think that he is currently charged with any crimes of sexual assault, although my ability to search appropriate legal records is limited to google.
I understand that and it was why I didn’t label it as him pleading guilty to rape, but rather as just “more on Mr. Francis.” Sorry if I confused anyone by implying it was specifically related to this particular instance. I simply thought any information about him would be an interesting read, especially if it concerned his business practices in a broader context. Mea culpa.
Search http://www.thesmokinggun.com/ if you want to look at legal documents. I do not know what all charges have been filed regarding Mr. Francis, but much of the paper work is available through TSG. I did read that many charges were dropped against him because the videos were siezed in an illegal search.