Another athlete accused of rape

A terrible news story out of Indianapolis. A student athlete is accused of rape, on the grounds of what is considered a fairly safe high school. Immediately, commenters attribute this crime to being an athlete, one who can get away with unacceptable behavior because he's an athlete. (Some bring race into the equation.)

And they do this while the resolution of the Duke false rape case is fresh in our minds.

There are some rather interesting comments (in a thread that seems to have been closed), where those claiming to be students think this may be a false accusation, one intended to deflect unwanted attention after being caught in the act.

Obviously, we don't have enough information to know what happened. The alleged rapist has been arrested, and will be tried as an adult. The case will be investigated. And the state will have its chance to prove his guilt.

I think it goes completely without saying that rape is a heinous crime, and should be seriuosly punished. Less commonly said, though, is that a false charge of rape is one of the worst crimes among those that do not do physical harm, doing terrible damage even without any direct harm to body or property. Though not at all comparable in damage to violent crime, this crime must be punished as well, with significant prison sentences.

Yesterday, a horrible crime was committed, and the criminal must be punished, and the victim protected. We'll have to wait for the investigation and trial, though, to know who's who.