A stranger, later known to be OLeary, entered her Lynnwood apartment, threatened plaintiff D.M. When I went to sleep I dreamed that someone broke in and raped me. You cant republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually. Kristen Bell to Befriend an Unorthodox Rabbi. Wesshe Montegumry In it she claims the detectives ignored her account of events and bullied her into saying the rape never happened. She and her husband took in the high-schooler for a short time when her previous foster familys plans to adopt her fell through. LYNNWOOD, Wash. The city of Lynnwood will pay $150,000 in a settlement with a rape victim, after Lynnwood police claimed she lied about the attack in 2008. Jensen refused to comment to the newspaper because of the litigation and Rittgarn, who has since left the Lynnwood Police Department and now lives in San Diego, said he was unaware of the lawsuit and couldn't remember the case. Nobody can get into it. As in the series, Cunningham and Maries transitional housing case manager were with Marie when police arrived after the rape, and she later shared her doubts about it with them. Neither officer faced any disciplinary action for the botched investigation. At the hospital, a doctor noted injuries to both her wrists and abrasions on her genitals. She has a fianc and she's looking forward to a fabulous life. Detective Rittgarn refused an interview with the publication. The woman, identified in the lawsuit by the initials D.M., says she was forced to undergo counseling when Lynnwood police told managers of the at-risk youth program where she was living in 2008 that they didnt believe shed been raped, according to court documents. Along with Esquire, his work has appeared in NYLON, Vulture, and USA Today. Miller and Armstrong write, "They didn't talk for long, fifteen minutes maybe, but all Marie wanted, all she really needed, was to tell Galbraith how much her work had meant.". But, as they continuously press the young woman to repeatedly tell her story.css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}as she's showing clear signs of someone traumatized by the assaultthe detectives grow suspicious and eventually coerce a false confession out of her that she made up the assault. Parker says something similar to Rasmussen in the show. The lawsuit alleges that, as soon as the detective concluded she was lying, the investigation ceased. Then 18, she reported the attack but she says detectives Jerry Rittgarn and Sergeant Jeff Mason didn't believe her story, and ignored evidence including stained sheets, doctors reports detailing injuries to her wrists and abrasions on her genitals and DNA samples. She describes in the law suit the man, wielding a kitchen knife, warned her that he had taken photos of her and knew her name as he fled the apartment. Edna Hendershot and Sgt. And while we dont know if she was really a Druid like Annaleigh Ashfords Lilly Darrow, a 46-year-old artist did distract OLeary long enough to escape by jumping out of her bedroom window, breaking several ribs and puncturing a lung in the process. You cant state or imply that donations to your organization support ProPublicas work. In this report a sex crimes supervisor noted that Marie's situation was nothing short of the victim being coerced into admitting that she lied about the rape. The investigation concluded that bullying and hounding led to Marie's admittance of false reporting. 2 yr. ago The LinkedIn profile looked abandoned to me, but he does show up on other sites. To calculate the rate, we summed the number of unfounded rapes and divided it by the number of reported rapes. According to the ProPublica article, after Marie's rapist was apprehended, the Lynnwood Police Department opened up an outside review into the department. Also named in the suit are Rittgarn . "Based on her answers and body language it was apparent that [Marie] was lying about the rape," he wrote in a report. We consulted police training guidelines by various organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and End Violence Against Women International. Jerry Rittgarn threatened Adler with . The victim of the Lynnwood attack last week filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the city of Lynnwood, claiming detectives disregarded evidence of the assault, bullied her into saying it didnt happen and then threatened to have her thrown out of her apartment when she insisted it did. Based on her answers and body language it was apparent that [Marie] was lying about the rape, Rittgarn later wrote. In December 2015, ProPublica and the Marshall Project co-published An Unbelievable Story of Rape. According to an outside review of the investigation after Marie was cleared of her false report misdemeanor, "the manner in which she was treated by Sergeant Mason and Detective Rittgarn can only be labeled as bullying and coercive." One was her former foster mother, with whom D.M. Talk to us You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing . She named Mason and. I wrote about it last year here. Their suspicions were based on comments from three people who said that they doubted her story, according to the suit. The real Marie sued the Lynnwood Police Department, according to the Seattle Times; she claimed the officers had disregarded evidence and bullied her into recanting. Rittgard left the police force before OLearys arrest, but the case review found that threatening her with imprisonment and the possible loss of her housing was coercive, cruel, and unbelievably unprofessional. In the book-length follow-up to their original reporting, journalists T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong said Rittgarn had objected to his work being labeled as bullying and wanted money to talk to them. .css-ssumvd{display:block;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.0625rem;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.25;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-ssumvd:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-ssumvd{letter-spacing:0rem;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}Gayle Says March Is a Good Month for TV Lovers, Sheryl Lee Ralphs Definition of True Love, What We Know About The Little Mermaid Remake, Oprah Congratulates Kimmel on 20 Years of His Show, Nikole Hannah-Jones on "The 1619 Project", Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Wakanda Forever Podcast, Oprah Is Acting in Tyler Perrys Next Netflix Film, Gayle Wears the Same Dress on CBS 11 Years Later. Yet, after conversations with the victims stepmother, her friend, and anonymous caller, police began to have doubts. Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn, pressed on the inconsistencies in her story. The rapist, Marc O'Leary, is. Rittgarn, on the other hand, had been a detective for 11 years, but had a background in helicopters and the aerospace industry. We excluded agencies that did not report crime statistics in any given month, as well as those that reported no crimes of any kind in a year. None of the evidence police collected linked him to his brothers rapes. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. On Aug. 18, D.M. Mason told ProPublica, "It wasnt her job to try to convince me. There are 7 professionals named "Jerry Ritt", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. (To inquire about syndication or licensing opportunities, contact. It follows the initial investigation into a the assault of a young woman named Marie. called a neighbor, who called police. According to the ProPublica article, after Marie's rapist was apprehended, the Lynnwood. We do not generally permit translation of our stories into another language. "There was a particular photo that I really liked that she took. These female detectives (whose names are changed to Grace Rasmussen and Karen Duvall, played by Toni Collette and Merritt Weaver, in the Netflix series) actually do their job, and work to uncover the truth behind the rapes. Unbelievable, a Netflix original series that debuts on September 13, is "a story about a rape investigation gone horribly wrong, and then a rape investigation gone brilliantly right," as showrunner .css-9cezh6{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#E61957;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-9cezh6:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Susannah Grant puts it. The national average for "unfounded" cases is around five percent. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. D.M. had been arguing, and the other a friend who had spoken to D.M. For more stories like this, sign up for our newsletter. Grusing was the only officer to interview the serial rapist, perhaps because, as Taggart says to Karen and Grace about Chris in episode eight, women make him uncomfortable., Eric Langes detached Detective Parker is a surrogate for Sergeant Jeffrey Mason, who spent the bulk of his career on patrol and in narcotics and had little rape-investigation experience when he became the lead on Adlers case. Peggy's lack of faith in her former foster daughter's account moved her to tell Detective Mason that this was probably just one of Marie's gambits for attention. He tied her hands behind her back with a lace from her tennis shoe, blindfolded her and gagged her. Marie had a horrific childhood, bouncing around various foster and group homes from around age 6, and was sexually and physically abused throughout. To determine the rate of rape crimes declared unfounded, or groundless, by law enforcement agencies, we analyzed Uniform Crime Reporting data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jun 1985 - Jun 19894 years 1 month. Lets Do the Thing: How Online Were You in February 2023? Unbelievable's parallel cases demonstrate how there's no one way all real rape survivors react to what's happened to them (since, you know, no two people are exactly alike). When she wouldn't, they pressured her further until she ultimately reneged on her confession. The facility and two of its employees are also named in the lawsuit. After OLeary was caught, McQuery apologized to Adler and later told This American Life she was shocked that Adler was willing to forgive her for such a huge thing., Like Scott Lawrences effective Fed, FBI special agent Jonny Grusing was a crucial part of the task force that aided the detectives work. What do you think should happen to someone who would lie about something like this? Rapes by strangers were uncommon maybe about 13 percent of cases. From the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2011, Only about one-fifth to one-third of rapes get reported to police, national surveys show. From National Crime and Victimization Survey, 2014 and National Violence Against Women Survey, 2006. Along with a formidable cast that includes Hereditary's Toni Colette and Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever, the project has many big names attached to it, with Katie Couric as an executive producer and novelist power couple Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon as contributing writers. Busy Phillips Is Not Like a Regular Mom, Shes a Cool Mom, Theres nothing wrong with Busy Phillips being cast as Mrs. George in the upcoming, In Search of Tom and Katies Bubba Painting, Maybe punting on the larger plot can be forgiven if we get a sweet. The woman, identified in the lawsuit by the initials D.M., says she was forced to undergo counseling when Lynnwood police told managers of the at-risk youth program where she was living in 2008 that they didnt believe shed been raped, according to court documents. In the vein of fellow Netflix projects such as Mindhunter and When They See Us, the miniseries explores true crime through the failures of the criminal justice system. Jeff Mason didn't believe her. He was strategically stalking and attacking women who lived alone. 17-Down, Three Letters: Party for One artist Carly ___ Jepsen. . Unbelievable will debut on Netflix on Sept. 13. No matter what, you can always turn to The Marshall Project as a source of trustworthy journalism about the criminal justice system. We just want to dive into a pool without having to hold onto our bottoms. Pruitt and Eric Lange played Det. Rittgarn, who has left the Lynnwood Police Department and works as a private investigator in San Diego, said he was unaware of the lawsuit. After claiming police coerced her into recanting her story,. USMC. Former Lynnwood police Det. Mason is still with the Lynnwood Police Department. . In his home, they found the pink Sony camera in addition to the women's underwear, wet wipes, lube, and a pistol. But like her fictional counterpart, the real officer was more seasoned than Galbraith, having investigated more than 100 rapes by the time the two partnered up. Trevor Materasso; Lakewood, Colorado, police detective Aaron Hassell; Kirkland, Washington, police officer Audra Weber; Lynnwood police Sgt. The show mirrors the structure of the original article, which interweaves the two stories the same way. When the woman reported the attack to Lynnwood police, she says detectives Jerry Rittgarn and Sgt. Jeffrey Mason, Sgt. And we dont want to see this happen to anybody ever again.. Today, Rittgarn is retired from the force and working as a private investigator. with a butcher knife, bound her wrists with a shoe string he had removed from her shoes, stuffed a pair of underwear in her mouth as a gag, blindfolded her, and took photographs of her, according to the lawsuit she filed. In Marie's case, neither of her foster moms thought she was behaving like it really happened, for different reasons: Shannon decided Marie didn't seem sad enough just hours after the crime, telling ProPublica, "There was just no emotion. T. Christian Miller is a senior editor for ProPublica. When the woman reported the attack to Lynnwood police, she says detectives Jerry Rittgarn and Sgt. Jerry Rittgarn declined to be interviewed. He actually met with Marie again after the truth came out and later told The Marshall Project, It wasnt her job to try to convince me. From what Mason wrote up later, he wasted little time confronting Marie, telling her there were inconsistencies between her statements and accounts from other witnesses. We ran this calculation for all departments that met our criteria on a national level. Jeffrey Mason and Jerry Rittgarn, pressed on the inconsistencies in her story. After OLearys arrest in Colorado in February 2011, Lynnwood police Cmdr. The character of Detective Pruitt (played by Bill Fagerbakke) is loosely based on Jerry Rittgarn, who was the one who first blatantly told Marie he didn't believe her story. Knowing that youre behind us means so much. VIDEO: Rape victim was called a liar by police. Rittgarn told her that if she was lying she would go to jail and that he would not recommend Cocoon House keep her, the suit alleges. As with Merritt Wevers compassionate detective, it was a fluke that Galbraiths police-officer husband, David not the karaoke-singing Max the Knife remembered that his Colorado department had seen a similar rape in which the attacker had made his victim shower and scrupulously cleaned her. We also restricted our examination to only those agencies that reported at least one rape over this timespan. KIRO 7 News Seattle facebook feed(Opens a new window), KIRO 7 News Seattle twitter feed(Opens a new window), KIRO 7 News Seattle youtube feed(Opens a new window), Woman loses $29K after being targeted by banking scam with victims in 9 states, Driver killed after car goes off overpass in Georgetown, Tacoma police looking for two alleged retail thieves, Man caught with nearly $3K in stolen fragrance, allegedly planned to trade for fentanyl pills, Cheerleader performs solo after team quits before state championships. After attacking her, he forced the woman to shower, took her bedding with him before leaving, and cleaned his ejaculate with moist towelettes. The victim was too attacked by a man in a black mask who took her pink camera to shoot pictures of her before forcing her to shower. When the woman reported the attack to Lynnwood police, she says detectives Jerry Rittgarn and Sgt. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurers Inner Workings. One thing that's left out of the series is the fact that Marie also settled for a undisclosed amount with Cocoon House, the nonprofit that ran the Project Ladder housing where she was raped. Galbraith had admired her new partner, Edna Hendershot, from a distance ever since their paths crossed at a police briefing for a big drug bust Hendershot had taken part in. Virtually every real-life detail of the rape and the Lynnwood police investigation plays out onscreen in Unbelievable. 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