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Rape inquiry brings lawsuit

A woman says police doubt her and ended the investigation.

By COLLEEN JENKINS
Published March 16, 2007

TAMPA - A woman who said she was raped after the Gasparilla parade is suing the city for access to her case records on the grounds that police don't believe her and have stopped investigating her claim.

A Tampa police spokeswoman countered that the investigation continues despite the woman's attorney barring her from further aiding detectives.

The 21-year-old University of South Florida student, who is not being named due to the nature of the case, reported being grabbed off Howard Avenue by a stranger and raped behind a building in broad daylight as she left the parade. But she ended up sitting in jail for two days after police learned there was a warrant for her arrest for failing to pay restitution for a juvenile crime.

The jail stint halted the rape investigation and set off a fire storm of criticism about police treatment of an apparent crime victim. Mayor Pam Iorio and Tampa Police officials publicly apologized.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, attorney Vic Moore III said a detective brought a photo line-up of suspects to the attorney's Venice law office on March 1.

But the lawsuit alleges that Detective M.D. Holder said she had determined that the woman falsely reported the rape to make her friends feel guilty about not walking with her to her car. The detective said she would no longer investigate the case, according to the lawsuit.

Moore filed the suit after an assistant city attorney denied his request for his client's case file, citing an open investigation.

Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said the detective was trying to clear up inconsistencies in the woman's story when her attorney abruptly ended the interview.

"We absolutely never accused the victim of fabricating the sexual battery," McElroy said. But Moore "made it clear that the victim would no longer participate in the investigation, which is highly unusual.

"It's discouraging to the detectives because it obviously makes this a more difficult investigation without the help of the victim."

Moore could not be reached Thursday evening. In the lawsuit, he said his client "stands ready to do anything possible to help the Tampa City Police catch the rapist."

[Last modified March 16, 2007, 06:08:36]