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Holy Comic Scandal!

Started by drice6900,

210 posts in this topic

drice6900

drice6900

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Posted

ALLEGED PERPETRATOR NAMED IN MIDOHIO CON SEXUAL ASSAULT SCANDAL

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Since January, part of the comics blogosphere has been consumed with alleged sexual misconduct that occurred at last fall's Mid Ohio Con in Columbus. The incident was first brought to public attention in a December column entry ("What a Girl Wants: Well Grab My Tit and Call Me a Liar") at Buzzscope.com by Ronee Garcia Bourgeois. In the months since the initial column, individuals were suspected as both the victim and alleged assailant, while viewpoints have been passionately expressed on both sides as few true facts of the case were known.

 

In early April, creator Taki Soma has identified herself as the victim of the alleged assault, and Newsarama has now confirmed that Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Charles Brownstein is the alleged perpetrator of the claimed assault. As is usually the case in this matter, there are at least two sides of the story.

 

In early April, through Bourgeois column, Soma recounted her version of the events, writing:

 

As many of you reading this, I’m sure it sounds familiar. Well here’s the rest of the story, at least from my side:

 

The incident happened late in the year of 2005, during pre-convention prepping and partying;

 

I was invited down to the pool in the hotel I was staying at by friends but I turned the invitation down per I didn’t have a bathing suit with me, but after some coaxing, it was decided that it was okay to go in my clothes – But instead of swimming, there was an attached hot tub sectioned off in the pool, where everything is wide open and we all gravitated towards the hot tub to sit and just talk about comics and movies, etc.

 

I was thrown into the pool area by surprise a couple of times by this one man, which made me quite unhappy and uncomfortable. This was a person I had met during a convention a little over year ago and had developed an acquaintanceship from seeing him around at all the conventions I attend. He knew everyone and introduced me to the Editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, given me advice on my art, shared amusing tales about the industry, etc. – I thought he was definitely someone I’d want to keep within networking relations, or so I thought:

 

After a while, most others went up to their rooms and the remaining people were this individual, my friend Ken and myself; I excused myself and started to leave, but before I succeeded in getting out of the tub, this man grabs my shoulders from behind and started to massage me there, then slip his hands under my shirt, felt around my back and then slipped his left hand toward my left breast. He had his hand cupped on my breast when I pried him off of me. Ken, who was swimming must have noticed what was happening and came in from over the ledge. I then stated again that I am leaving and started to get out of the tub when he grabs onto my shirt with his right hand and attempted to remove it off of me. Ken grabs the man’s offending hand to try to remove it while I grabbed the shirt down to keep it on me. I kept warning the attacker to let go, don’t do this, etc.; and all 3 of us struggled for maybe 10 seconds, it was an awkward struggle because Ken and I are both trying to remove this man’s hand away without having my top ripped or slipped off of me. Ken overpowered him and got his hand off of my shirt. Ken then told me to run back to my room.

 

Soon afterwards, I filed a police report. (Report #051059701) ( Newsarama Note: Nearly all of the report has been redacted as no charges were filed).

 

This is where it gets complicated; the incident happened in Ohio, I’m in Minnesota, my witness, Ken is in Canada and the individual in question is in yet another state – these factors have made it very difficult for me to obtain legal representation or to seek legal advice. I have made countless phone calls, researched, and all I get is the run around and speculation as to what to do. Every single attorney I spoke with, civil, pro-bono, even the D.A.’s office in Ohio were unsure of how to advise me confidently – I’ve also contacted various organizations, including those who give support to sexual violence victims, artists in need of legal advice, and even their contact attorneys – and still, no solid legal advice. I felt overwhelmed and powerless… how can I not have any answers? - I’ve been told to move on, I wasn’t raped, it’s no big deal by a few… but it is a big deal, to me. I understand fully what occurred, and I’m not here to say that my experience was as horrendous as rape cases are, but I was nonetheless wronged. I also know that my incident was not an isolated case by this person, but repeated behavior that has been escalating each time. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I remained silent and just hoped it wouldn’t happen again to someone else.

 

I am still searching for legal advice and I’m finding tremendous support from Friends of Lulu and I would love to be involved in their mission. I don’t want another victim to ever have to face what I am facing. It is my hope that through greater awareness that people will be able to find the resources, answers, confidence and support if and when they ever need it.

 

-Taki Soma

 

“Ken” referred to in the statement by Soma is Ken Lillie-Paetz of Monkey Pharmacy Productions, with whom Soma reportedly shares a relationship, and shared one with at the time of the incident (Lillie-Paetz was reportedly "telling those who would listen that he and Soma were having an 'affair' at this past weekend's Toronto Comic-Con"). The date of the incident, according to the police report was November 26th, with the incident itself occurring at 3:00 am.

 

When contacted by Newsarama, Brownstein issued a statement as well, writing:

 

Though I'd hoped that the allegations brought against me would not have been aired in a court of public opinion, circumstances are such that I must provide my perspective. I did not come forward sooner out of respect for Taki, as I didn't want to cause her any more hurt than I already, unintentionally, had. Right now, unfortunately, there is too much poisonous speculation circling about the incident, so I feel that the record must be set straight.

 

What happened in Ohio started when, after a party on the evening in question, Taki invited me to accompany her and Ken Lillie-Paetz back to her hotel room. This wasn't unusual – I'd known both of them for more than a year and regarded them as friends. In her room, Taki served more drinks, and suggested we go down to the pool. In the pool, everyone was intoxicated and rowdy. At one point, very late in the evening, I was sitting in the Jacuzzi with her and Ken, and I feigned to lift up her shirt. It was a stupid, drunken prank, of which I'm ashamed. It was something I'd never done before, nor anything I'd do since. I did not, at any point, grab, fondle, or expose her breast, nor was that ever my intention.

 

I feel terrible for hurting Taki's feelings. The following day, and on several occasions since, I apologized to Taki for my bad behavior. I also spoke with Ken at several points over the course of the weekend, to see if we could find a way to honorably set matters right. Unfortunately my sincere apologies have all been rejected. I continue to feel genuine regret that I hurt someone I regarded as a friend, and I hoped she would accept my repeated apology, but since that's not the case, I want to end the speculation surrounding this incident, because it's not fair to the industry or to the people this was being speculated about.

 

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund handled the incident completely properly by taking Taki's complaint seriously, and promptly retaining a law firm specializing in such matters to conduct a thorough, impartial investigation. I participated fully with that investigation, which concluded at the end of February, a fact of which Taki was informed.

 

Likewise, I have not done and would not do anything to besmirch nor harm Taki's reputation or career in any manner. I'm the servant of a public trust who has never worked with Taki in any capacity, and am in no position to either offer or reject her work, nor am I in a position to otherwise influence anyone else in doing so. Nor would I, were I in such a position of influence.

 

I hope that with the passage of time that Taki will accept my public apology, as I am sorry both to her and to the members of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, for this indiscretion.

 

When contacted by Newsarama about the incident as well as proof that Brownstein was the alleged perpetrator of the attack, CBLDF President Chris Staros issued the following statement:

 

"Certain allegations were brought to the Fund's attention. The Board of Directors has been dealing with the issue since the day after the incident, and has taken the matter very seriously. The Board retained an outside investigator to conduct a thorough independent investigation, which has concluded. Appropriate actions have been taken based on the results of the investigation, but to protect the privacy rights of all the parties involved we cannot comment further." -- Chris Staros, President & Louise Nemschoff, Secretary, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

 

Yesterday evening, The Comics Journal posted an in depth report on the matter, which noted, among other facts, that Some herself declined to press charges against Brownstein after filing a police report in November (which is consistent with what Newsarama has learned through its own investigation).

 

Check back later today for a detailed analysis of the statements and responses to the allegations since they were first made public.

 

Newsrama link

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drice6900

drice6900

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Interesting follow-up:

 

From The Comics Journal article linked above:

 

Lillie-Paetz told the Journal he climbed out and swam in the adjacent pool until he noticed "something weird happening" in the hot tub.

 

.......

 

Lillie-Paetz told the Journal, "He was not letting her go and I had to pull his fingers back from her shirt without losing her shirt and without breaking his fingers. I had to kind of guess at how far I could pull his fingers back without breaking them." Asked if an attempt was made to reason with Brownstein, Lillie-Paetz said, "He was totally out of it."

 

.........

 

The immediate aftermath saw Soma locked in her hotel bathroom, as Brownstein, gradually realizing the seriousness of his actions, attempted to apologize. The severely upset Soma refused to speak to Brownstein and he was walked back to his hotel room by Lillie-Paetz. No one was willing to talk about that walk on the record. All Lillie-Paetz would say was that, "He was very shocked at the extent of what he had done and very shocked that the police were called."

 

The incident allegedly occurred around 3 a.m. A couple of hours later, police filed a report on the matter. Lillie-Paetz said he waited "around the corner" while Soma recounted the incident to investigating officers. He expected to be questioned, but instead police left without speaking to either him or the accused. Little can be learned from the report available to the public, virtually all information having been redacted, including the victim's identity and the incident narrative. The offense comes under the category of "molesting" and is described in the report as a "sexual imposition," making it a misdmeanor. The alleged perpetrator's name doesn't appear in the report because Columbus Police elected not to make any arrests, one of the biggest initial mysteries in the case.

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the blob

the blob

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She should just get over it. What does she expect in a hot tub? Plus, her boyfriend was right there to pound the guy if necessary.

 

Of course, were she my daughter, wife or girlfriend this guy would be in the hospital. i'd have broken all of his fingers so he couldn't grab any more breastises and couldn't read any comic books.

 

Double standard? Sure. On the other hand, I might have done worse while drunk in a hot tub. There's something about hot water and booze that makes people forget their manners.

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comicseekers-migration

comicseekers-migration

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She should just get over it. What does she expect in a hot tub? Plus, her boyfriend was right there to pound the guy if necessary.

 

Of course, were she my daughter, wife or girlfriend this guy would be in the hospital. i'd have broken all of his fingers so he couldn't grab any more breastises and couldn't read any comic books.

 

Double standard? Sure. On the other hand, I might have done worse while drunk in a hot tub. There's something about hot water and booze that makes people forget their manners.

893whatthe.gif
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Kermit the frog

Kermit the frog

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She should just get over it. What does she expect in a hot tub?

 

Well, if (i wish not) your daughter and/or wife goes by the same experience, the person who presents this type of behaviour will know exactly what to tell you... something that "closes" the case : "she should just get over it...What does she expect in a hot tub?"

and there you'll be satisfied and happy with the civilized/mature explanation!!! makepoint.gif

 

There's something about hot water and booze that makes people forget their manners.

 

and i think just plain stupidity is also a factor to add to that equation of yours. wink.gif

 

regards

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DKB

DKB

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Been reading stuff here and there on this for awhile.

 

Colleen Doran's blog today has me awfully skeptical:

 

 

Oh well, I guess everything’s out in the open now.

 

I sincerely doubt this case is going anywhere.

 

My father is a former police chief. My brother is a policeman. My grandfather is a former deputy sheriff.

 

The police (read COURTS) DO file charges when perpetrators are across state lines. They do not extradite for misdemeanors. Had there been a willingness on the part of the complainant to press charges, and a witness who did more than stand around a corner while the complainant was interviewed, charges would have been filed had there been a case. They were not.

 

In February of this year, the witness, Ken Lillie Paetz, and Charles Brownstein stood at my table at the New York Comic Con, and had a friendly, 20 minute conversation with me, talking comics and other inconsequentials in a perfectly normal manner in front of dozens of witnesses. Mr Paetz had discussed the Mid Ohio Con incident with me earlier in the day and expressed his regret that things had “gone so far” and “gotten so out of hand” with the reporting on the story, and that he hoped Ms. Soma would let it all go, but that he would “stand by her”.

 

If Mr. Paetz believed Mr. Brownstein was a sexual predator who was a danger to his girlfriend or anyone else for that matter, I can’t imagine why on Earth he would have carried on this cordial discussion that ended in a warm handshake with Brownstein mere months after the alleged incident.

 

Moreover, since Ms. Soma’s primary intention is to “make sure (Brownstein) never works in this business again” I am afraid even the Supreme Court does not have the power to grant her wish to have him blacklisted.

 

It does not appear, on the other hand, that Brownstein attempted to have her blacklisted, nor, as I said before, does he have the power to do so.

 

 

I am familar with Taki Soma from the Bendis board, which I mostly only lurk on. Buncha crazies on that board. She's an extremely pleasant person on the boards. She seems a rather dignified and honest type. I doubt she's lying, but I don't doubt everyone's recollection of the incident is 100% clear and unclouded. I'd wager both parties were misunderstood.

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the blob

the blob

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oh you silly froggy, of course such behavior is terrible, which is why i'd be breaking those naughty fingers of the perpetrator!

 

but seriously, why didn't the boyfriend clock him in the head? isn't that the manly thing to do? Isn't that what Captain America would do?

 

anywayz, my wife is sicilian. she'd probably call a cousin or something and the guy would be made into pepperoni. something my mother-in-law threatens me with every now and then.

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Posted
but seriously, why didn't the boyfriend clock him in the head? isn't that the manly thing to do?

 

 

some boyfriends are into that cuckolding fetish thing, or maybe he likes to watch his GF get TF'd by another man...freaky fanboys...

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