All week we've been reporting on the UDP attorney under accusation for a rape that allegedly happened one week ago.
A statement was made by the complainant, she was medically examined, and the attorney has been questioned by investigators. Tonight, the DPP has still not yet indicated whether charges will be brought.
But, a story was posted today on one of those online news sites that caught the attention and stirred the ire of our news director. Jules Vasquez has this commentary on crossing the line between media ethics and media bullying:
Orson Jerome Elrington is a well known attorney in Belize but what is lesser known is that he is considered the principal force and guiding hand behind Hot Off the Press, an online news site.
Today that site was weaponized basically to slut shame two women, one of whom is accusing him of rape. Hot Off the Press published a video of the two women - his accusers- in Thirsty's nightclub on the night or morning of the alleged rape. The post says the women are unemployed, that they were, quote, "socializing in the company of several other men," - like this is some sort of crime - and that they are the ones who approached Elrington asking about an after party.
Of course, in the face of an accusation of rape - everything that happened before is irrelevant - the question is - was there consent to the sex act at the moment of it occurring.
The narrative presented here is simply a red herring ruthlessly deployed as a smear by Hot Off The Press.
But, more than that, it's a shameless abuse of privilege. Elrington - who has been protected by the media's ethical restraint to not disclose the names of accused private citizens - is now abusing his media to discredit and intimidate his accusers.
Tonight, he remains free of charges - the details of the case appear cloudy due to the circumstances - and indeed he may never face charges - which would make this excessive use of media prerogative all the more lamentable.
Again, that was a commentary and not editorial news content.
