State gets undeserved break in Edison rape case

October 8, 10:51 AMLibertarian ExaminerTrevor Bothwell

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Maryland prosecutors got a break this week in their case against 16-year-old John Edison, Jr., who is accused of violently raping a 12-year-old girl, when they received scientific confirmation that Edison's DNA was found on the girl as a result of a nail scraping.

Though negative test results would have been cause for Edison and his family to jump for joy, they were prepared for the likely possibility that tests would come back positive. After all, Edison has never denied being with the girl and has insisted from the beginning that any sexual activity that took place was consensual. Also recall that the 12-year-old's hospital exam following this alleged rape revealed absolutely no evidence of physical or sexual abuse, and even concluded that the girl's hymen was still intact.

I don't have all the details about what may have taken place on a sexual front on the night in question, nor do I know if they've even been made public to date, but the greatest challenge facing Edison's attorney, Kevin J. McDevitt, is to overcome society's seemingly overwhelming bias against men in rape cases by getting a jury to focus on the fact that his client is facing decades in prison on mere accusations alone.

At this point, it's not known what type of DNA evidence was discovered on the alleged victim, but it could be anything from hair to semen to saliva. It's important to realize that the presence of Edison's DNA on the 12-year-old in no way necessarily means that he forced himself upon her. Skin cells slough off our bodies constantly, so mere touching could lead to DNA transfer. The girl could have had her fingers in the boy's mouth. They could have been roughhousing and flirting like sexually curious kids are wont to do. And that's not even considering the fact that the girl could have had her hands in Edison's pants or performed fellatio on him.

Another interesting tidbit I learned about this story in the past week or so was how often the girls changed their stories about this alleged rape. Recall that Edison, his friend, and both girls were seen by a neighbor around 7:00 a.m. on July 5 outside Edison's house walking down the street and by all accounts getting along. McDevitt is also on record saying that the 12-year-old gave Edison a hug before leaving his house.

According to the 911 tape, the 15-year-old is heard accusing Edison of raping her. But police reports indicate that the 12-year-old accused Edison of raping her, and the 15-year-old accused Edison's friend of raping her (two boys, two girls, two alleged rapes). The 15-year-old then changed her story again, claiming that Edison raped the 12-year-old and that any sexual contact between Edison's friend and her was consensual. I think I've got this about right, but you can see why it's a little confusing to keep everything straight.

Unfortunately, this discovery of Edison's DNA evidence on the alleged victim is a win for the prosecution, though one that is entirely undeserved given its abhorrent treatment of this boy, who has been incarcerated without bond since July 5 on nothing more than a rape accusation. That said, this new evidence -- however anticipated given the fact that Edison and his friend spent the night of July 4 and morning of July 5 with these girls -- is probably all the probable cause it needs to keep Edison confined indefinitely as he awaits his trials. After all, he's so far been condemned to a government cage on much less.

In sum, this new DNA evidence proves nothing more that the fact that Edison was with the 12-year-old on the night and morning in question, a fact he has freely admitted all along. In fact, it's altogether likely that it could work to his benefit -- combined with hospital records indicating that this girl was assaulted neither physically nor sexually, sober viewers have every reason to conclude that she was a willing participant in the transfer of any DNA. Moreover, given the variety of stories offered up by the girls, it's very telling that there is no rape case simultaneously pending against Edison's friend regarding the 15-year-old.

From where I sit, it looks like a couple of very young girls who were about to get caught sneaking around by their parents decided to try to cover their respective butts by crying rape, knowing full well that their earlier interactions with the boys would probably reveal physical evidence to support their accusations. If I'm wrong about this, I'll be the first to apologize. But I just can't see how anyone, much less trained police officers and prosecutors, could look at all the facts of this case -- especially the lack of evidence from the outset and the consistent inconsistency of the girls' accounts of events -- and think John Edison actually raped this 12-year-old.