The information in this post is from news accounts. No one has been convicted. But a man arrested for a sex crime has been cleared.
Heath Kirk, 22, who lost part of his leg serving in Afghanistan, said that he and Danielle Marie Gates, 19, were on a date last week that included dinner, a movie, and consensual sex.
For reasons not revealed, Gates accused him of kidnapping him her and forcing her to have sex with him near the Alamo Quarry Market, a thriving San Antonio shopping and dining center.
Kirk denied the claim and accused Gates of lying. Kirk and not Gates, of course, was arrested. He was charged with kidnapping and sexual assault.
How did the news media report it? It showed Kirk donning an orange prison jumpsuit, with the look of a young man who simply couldn't believe what was happening to him.
Here's how one news outlet reported his ordeal: "A man is locked up, accused of kidnapping and raping an ex-girlfriend. Police say Heath Kirk, 23, kidnapped a 19-year-old woman from a career college campus on Southwest Military on Tuesday. According to an affidavit, Kirk drove the woman to a field near the Quarry and sexually assaulted her. Kirk is now charged with aggravated kidnapping and sexual abuse.Man Arrested For Kidnapping and Sexual Assault."
Anyone reading that account would think that Heath Kirk committed a heinous sex crime. If the report had been accurate, it would have stated: "A man was arrested on the basis of a woman's claim that he kidnapped and rape her. The man denies the allegation and claims the woman is lying. Police are investigating."
Well, the story gets predictable from there. According to a news report: "Investigators believe that she was lying after Kirk produced explicit pictures on a cell phone that contradicted her story."
Once again, technology to the rescue. How many young men would be languishing behind bars on rape charges if it weren't for cell phone or other cameras? Why, the number we've reported on this site alone is staggering. (Remember the feminist writer blathering on about the Hofstra false rape case who declared that the young man who made the video that kept five falsely accused young men from serving 25 years in prison for a crime they didn't commit "is the most twisted" one of all. See here.) And how many innocent young men are languishing behind bars for crimes they didn't commit, only because there is no photographic evidence to prove they didn't do it?
Investigators conducted a second interview with Gates and determined she made false statements to detectives, prompting investigators to pursue a warrant for her arrest. A judge signed the warrant Saturday afternoon and Gates was arrested on charges of aggravated perjury, police said. According to the Texas Penal Code, aggravated perjury is a third degree felony, punishable by between two and 10 years in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000.
It has to be a relief to Mr. Kirk. But it's impossible to undo the damage done to him.
SOURCES:
http://www.foxsanantonio.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/vid_7630.shtml
http://www.foxsanantonio.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/vid_7642.shtml?wap=0
http://www.ksat.com/news/29367645/detail.html
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