This is a stunning verdict, in a week of amazing legal news.(to include that Casey Anthony case) Thanks to a reader for sending me this news, and I also want to openly apologize to KBR and to those men who were labeled as rapists by this women. My commentary was only based on the given information, and at the end of the day, what matters most is the facts.
This jury was given all of the available information and have made their choice. And honestly, after reading what was posted in that Mother Jones article, I can see why they made their choice.
As to my thoughts on the whole case? I have heard about this kind of thing in the federal government, the military, and in private industry and it is most unfortunate. And usually the way it goes down is that a gal gets drunk, sleeps with a guy they work with, then has regrets in the morning about sleeping with that guy. Then the rumors that get spread about what happened are what fuel the anger of those that had regret. So the temptation of lashing out by crying rape in order to save face is there.
I know it sounds pretty immature, but these things happen in the real world. And these things happen in war zones as well. Probably the two things that get male contractors in the most trouble overseas is ‘booze and women’. The best solution for contracting survival is to not drink while over there, and to avoid relationships (if you can).
Especially for security contractors, because A. you carry a gun and B. you must not be distracted or influenced. Remember the whole ‘Mission, the Men, and Me” concept? Well, when you start putting your relationships ahead of the mission (contract) or the men, then your start opening yourself up to all sorts of problems. Now of course the risks are lower when relationships are with individuals from ‘other’ companies and contracts on a FOB or something. But if you have relations with your client(s) on your particular contract, or within your company, then that is a big red flag. Keep it professional, and focus on the mission and contract.
Now I also want to go back to the real sexual assault cases out there. The ones where women were truly assaulted, and all of the evidence and circumstance pointed towards that. I certainly hope that this particular case does not hurt your case.
This case is also a cautionary tale for those women who have decided to use rape as a means to hurt some guy that you had consensual sex with, all because you had regrets about the whole affair in the morning or sometime later. There is a difference here between being raped/sexually assaulted, or having regrets because of personal choice. It is called being accountable for your actions, and if that is what you chose to do, then you need to live with it and move on.
A female victim has a lot of power when they scream rape, because it symbolizes such a shocking and tragic crime. But those same female victims lose that power when those ‘less than honorable women out there’ scream rape and use it as a malicious tool and legal weapon. KBR’s image suffered under this assault, and the accused men suffered under this assault–and both are a prime example of the power of this kind of thing. My support goes to those women who were truly victims, and I only hope that this case does not hurt your pursuit of justice or your desire to step forward and say something. –Matt
Federal jury: No rape, no fraud in KBR case
July 8, 2011
A federal jury on Friday ruled that a woman who sued KBR over an alleged sexual assault in Iraq was not raped, and the company did not commit fraud.
Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR, its Houston-based former parent company Halliburton and KBR firefighter Charles Bortz, who she claimed led an attack on her while she worked for KBR at Camp Hope in Baghdad in 2005.
Jones’ attorney, Ron Estefan, told jurors during closing arguments that KBR had neglected to enforce its policies against sexual harassment by its contract workers in Iraq, which facilitated Jones’ rape.
Estefan asked the jury to award his client as much as 5 percent of KBR’s net worth in actual or punitive damages, which would have been more than $114 million.
“It’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot of harm that was caused to her,” he told jurors.
Jurors began their deliberations in Houston on Thursday, but in the end, they ruled against Jones.
She left the courtroom in tears after the verdict was read.
Bortz claimed he had consensual sex with Jones. He was not criminally charged and has filed a countersuit against her.
Attorneys for Bortz and the company claimed that Jones made up the story about being drugged and raped out of fear of gossip among co-workers at the camp.
“I know it might make a better manuscript … to tell the story that Jamie was gang-raped and locked in a shipping container, but I am asking you to reject that fiction,” defense attorney Joanne Vorpahl told jurors.
Bortz’s attorney, Andrew T. McKinney, added: “The beauty of having no memory is that you don’t have to explain what you did and why you did it.”
Bortz said he wasn’t disciplined by the company for the alleged rape and that he quit KBR in May 2006, 10 months after Jones’ allegations surfaced.
Story here.