Rape cases can be notoriously difficult to prosecute especially when the defendant is a high profile athlete like NBA star Derrick Rose. The woman at the center of the case alleges that Rose and two friends raped her in her apartment while she was intoxicated. She is suing for $21.5 million in a civil case.
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That the three men had sex with her in her LA apartment is not in question. However, the men claim it was consensual. The woman alleges that she drifted in and out of consciousness to find her dress over her head, a burning sensation between her legs, lubricant on them, and condoms scattered around the floor.
Rose’s lawyer shocked the courtroom when he announced that LAPD Detective Nadine Hernandez had been found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. With no sign of foul play, officers are investigating her death as a suicide. However, the investigation is ongoing.
The two sides provide conflicting commentary about Hernandez’s comments on the alleged rape. Rose’s lawyer, Mark Baute, claimed in court that she had told him “there’s no rape case.” He also said that the detective alerted him to deleted texts from the victim to Rose which her lawyers withheld from the defense.
However, the woman initially known as Jane Doe, appeared shocked when Baute announced the death. One of her lawyers stated the detective had unequivocally said that a “crime had been committed.”
The highly charged trial is shining a light on how the judicial system handles sexual assault cases. Rose and his friends claim that the alleged victim is just seeking money from them, while Jane Doe insists that she was brutally raped.
The woman’s identity has now been revealed in court, but so far the media has restrained from releasing her name. The outcome of the case is far from certain, and one can hope that the verdict will be just.