Teenage girl 'made up' migrant rape claim that outraged Germany

[inanna]

Source: The Guardian

Sunday 31 January 2016 14.39 GMT

A 13-year-old Russian-German girl has admitted making up a story about being kidnapped and raped by migrants in a case that triggered a furore in Germany and briefly embroiled Berlin police in a spat with the Kremlin, state prosecutors said.

The parents of the teenager, named only as Lisa, reported her missing on 11 January after she failed to appear at school in the Marzahn district of the capital. She reappeared 30 hours later with injuries on her face, and told her parents she had been attacked by men of Middle Eastern or north African appearance. News of the incident spread on social media, sparking outrage among Berlin’s Russian-German community.

But when she was questioned by trained specialists three days later “she immediately admitted that the story of the rape was not true”, said the spokesman for the state prosecutor, Martin Steltner.

He said the teenager had been scared of going home after the school had contacted her parents over unnamed problems.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/31/teenage-girl-made-up-migrant-claim-that-caused-uproar-in-germany

[Botany]

1. grr

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”


― Mark Twain

[uhnope]

15. notice the role of Putin TV in the article

whipping up hatred against immigrants while funding the skinheads and far-right parties

[kiva]

2. I hadn't hear about this accusation.

I have heard of the mass assaults in Cologne and other cities, and the murder of the young woman in a migrant camp.

[Nye Bevan]

4. Shades of Tawana Brawley (nt)

[marble falls]

10. She's thirteen for pete's sake.

[Nye Bevan]

12. Tawana Brawley was 15.

She invented rape allegations that stirred up racial animosity.

What's your point?

[NotHardly]

19. Allegations truthing....

Look, she is 13 and has retracted, however, no forensic investigation nor its results have been made or offered. At this point, it is still a "one off" ... the truth is still not known.
I agree with marble falls ... time to wait for the details and to remember that in any event, she is 13, also known as a child, so, quit hitting and hurting her for what ever reason or what ever side of the argument you might stand.

[newthinking]

20. It's bizzare to see this here

Some of the reactions in this thread...........

[A Simple Game]

47. But let's not think about the migrants. Just who do you think is really the vulnerable group?

Not one word of sympathy for this group that has been screwed by the world, especially the United States.

But I can understand, no 13 year old has ever tried to divert the attention from what they did to get into trouble to an imaginary villain.

[timdog44]

54. And just if,

which is not out of the realm of possibility, someone of north African or Middle Eastern decent had been killed due to this "child", would you expect such a sit back and wait posture. I would speculate that she had been coached in her reasons for being missing.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

18. Anyone know if Al Sharpton was over in Germany lately?

[tom_kelly]

21. Maybe you don't belong on this site

[trillion]

30. +100000

[marble falls]

36. Really, thats not even a little funny. Why not remove the comment?

[gwheezie]

28. Something bad happened to twana brawley

I think she was drugged and assaulted. I remember her case very well. She reminded me of kids I was seeing at the time who were exhibiting the effects of angel dust. I remember talking to colleagues and we all thought she had been drugged.
The rest of her story, who knows?

[marble falls]

37. I agree. Something bad happened and it was never addressed.

[w0nderer]

5. K & R N/T

[DonCoquixote]

6. let's be careful

It could be very easy to focus on this, and take attention away from the rapes in COlgne, or for that matter, the rapes in America where everyone likes to scream "the girl is lying."

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Indeed. It's important to remember

that Haven Monahan is still at large.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/16/us/uva-rape/index.html?sr=fb121614uvarapestory10pVODtopLink

[DonCoquixote]

23. come now

that comment was tasteless, because most rapes are real..

[Warren DeMontague]

24. Of course. But we should deal in facts regardless of whatever the narrative is.

I've noticed a lot of people seem to try and ignore stories which don't fit their preferred narrative, and in cases where the story runs into two conflicting narratives, the situation gets extra messy, because then people don't know what to do.

[trillion]

31. However, since the vast majoirty of rapes go unreported, and there is a very small amount that are

made up, I don't think incidental evidence to sway people is accurate, or anything but propaganda to support a cause. It's like saying, one black person liked slavery, to support slavery. Okay, the reich wing has recently tried that.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. I agree, but in the UVA case, you had this incident being trumpeted as an indictment of everything

From the university system to greek culture to "these kids today". Then it turns out the story is fabricated by someone trying to get the attention of an unrequited crush, all of a sudden everyone wants to pretend it didnt happen.

It doesnt work both ways- it's indicate of a mass phenomenon as long as it gels with the narrative, but if it contradicts it -whee!-we stuff it down the memory hole.

Remember "B Girl", during the 2008 election? Calling that what it was doesn't mean you dont take legitmate assaults seriously.

[davidpdx]

26. But remember the accusation is being made toward an immigrant

If it turns out the accusation was not true, it is pretty difficult to un-ring the bell in terms of the idea that male immigrants being rapists. People will believe what they want whether it is true or not. Right now there seems to be a lot of immigrant backlash in Europe and things like this won't help. My guess is this is going to reinforce stereotypes about immigrants and lead to violence. I hope I am wrong.

[oberliner]

8. Perhaps she is being abused at home

That's what it sounds like at least from this limited information.

[CSStrowbridge]

9. What's the German equivalent of Child Protective Services?

What's the German equivalent of Child Protective Services? Because they should look in on this family.

[marble falls]

11. Absofreakinglutely! +1

[Helen Borg]

13. Sounds like that to me too....

[Odin2005]

14. This kind of lying is how progroms start.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. Yep. nt

[trillion]

32. +10000

[Bonobo]

53. You mean pogroms?

No, that was a different lie and it wasn't by a single person, but entire civilizations/religions.

[LittleGirl]

16. 13?

she doesn't know enough yet. ugh.

[AngryAmish]

25. Listen and believe.

Women do not lie about rape.

They can't.

[trillion]

33. What are you saying?

We all know there is a very small percentage who lie, most don't and most go unreported.

We also know there are a whole lot of sexist men out there who want all claims of rape dismissed because a very small percentage lie.

We also know men lie about not raping women, nearly every time when they do.

[Helen Borg]

35. Perhaps the rape happened at home.

... We just don't know...

[marble falls]

38. Something is wrong at home.

[LisaL]

40. She wasn't at home.

She stayed with 19 year old authorities describe as friend. Although I am not sure why a 19 year old male is hanging out with a 13 year old. Then I have seen allegations that she voluntarily had sex with 20 year old men (again, not at home). She can not consent to sex even per German law because she is too young.

[marble falls]

41. Something is wrong at her home. Regardless of where the attack was alleged ...

to have happened or by whom. This specific rape may not have happened. But something terrible has happened over the years to this girl and it would be a good start to investigate her home.

And I agree: the 19yr old boyfriend needs arresting.

[LisaL]

39. Authorities claim there was no kidnapping and

I have seen some reports that the girl had "voluntary" sexual contact with adult 20 year old men (not at home). So what are you talking about?

[LanternWaste]

44. I'm certain you'll allege that someone somewhere told you that.

I'm certain you'll allege that someone somewhere told you that.

[hughee99]

45. Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported. n/t

[mwrguy]

27. One more Islamophobic fabrication

How many more are exaggerated or made up?

[Bad Dog]

42. There's been a lot of demonising of refugees.

The vast majority who are fleeing persecution and possible death. The Cologne attacks only got such attention because Islamophobia is an acceptable form of bigotry in the West. It's no less disgusting than any other forms of bigotry.

There's been a lot of sympathy on this thread for the liar who helped stoke up this hatred, not so much for the poor people fleeing for their lives.

Remember this? It's not gone away.

[NoMoreRepugs]

43. remove emotion and bias towards immigrants and consider the rape problem

in the American military and on American college campuses and Germany pales by comparison. A non-story for the US problem and a reason to oust Merkel for the other - bizzaroworld is the new norm.

[branford]

46. What connection do rapes in the US military or on our campuses

Last edited Mon Feb 1, 2016, 07:39 PM - Edit history (1)

have to do with rapes in Germany and other parts of Europe?

For purposes of discussion, let's assume that ALL young single men are potential perpetrators of rape and rape culture, and that we have more than sufficient problems to deal with among our own citizens. Why then would we or anyone else choose to voluntary import hundreds of thousands of young single men, with minimal vetting, and from cultures widely known to lack even our minimal legal protection and cultural attitudes concerning equal protection for women, and potentially make the rape problem far worse? That's just stupid policy, to say nothing of the fact it's not supported by the democratic populaces of the affected countries.

It's not bigotry to believe that cultural relativism is a bankrupt philosophy, nor is it untoward to prioritize your own citizens over outsiders.

That's precisely why leaders like President Obama have decided that the USA will only admit refugee families, and then only from the refugee camps and after extremely careful vetting, sometimes taking years.

[A Simple Game]

48. Good for you, it's not many that would proudly wear their

xenophobia and androphobia out in the open like you do.

[branford]

49. Did you miss the part of my post

where I explicitly stated that I was accepting the prior member's implied assertions about men and rape only for purposes of discussion, and did my point that the logical conclusion of such beliefs are isolation rather than open immigration?

Ridiculous accusations about xenophobia against me or the vast majority of DU members who clearly agree with me as demonstrated by the vast majority of posts of this and similar threads, no less the wider and comparatively far less Democratic, liberal and progressive world, do not change the fact that there's a serious migrant crisis in Europe, the democratic voters largely blame the problem on their liberal elected leaders and immigration polices and want the migrant influx to stop and many already in Europe to leave, and if these leaders don't fix this problem soon, they will be out of jobs and replaced by the right and far right who will, mostly in a manner we would both probably find abhorrent. If that happens, and you still believe I'm xenophobic, you will faint dead away when you see what may be coming.

[A Simple Game]

50. Oh, please.

So in this post you are trying to say that it's alright that Europe is xenophobic and we have to accept and support their xenophobia because it could get worse if we don't? Exactly my point, it can get worse because it is being supported.

Of course you have to understand this post is for the purposes of discussion only.

Tell me honestly, who do you think are the most mistreated and vulnerable people in this situation?

[Denzil_DC]

51. "the vast majority of DU members who clearly agree with me as demonstrated by the vast majority

of posts of this and similar threads"

Oh, please.

You make a heck of a lot of noise about these issues, that's for sure. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week. Often the same old nyms popping up, making the same predictable proclamations.

I saw you today lecturing somebody else on what's happening in my own country, and making wild generalizations nobody who lives here would have the brass neck to, and you're thousands of miles away. I didn't bother piping up to challenge that because what would be the point? You'd just send up a vast squid cloud of obfuscation and take up more time and effort than any exchange with you would be worth.

I'm not going to claim "a vast majority," but I suspect I'm not alone in just using my own mental ignore system on threads like these.

Don't assume that silence means that you have mass agreement for your views.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

52. Look how the right-wing jumped on this story.....

Not just ours but their's.