Cop Says 12-Year-Old Alleged Rape Victim Wasn’t ‘Unwilling’; Internet Goes Nuts

The Internet rage machine is full steam ahead after a police detective in Houston, Texas referred to a 12-year-old alleged rape victim as “not necessarily all that unwilling.”

Jezebel, then Mic reported on Southside Place Detective Michael Kelly‘s poor choice of words, which he uttered during an interview with local ABC affiliate KTRK on Tuesday.

“She was not necessarily all that unwilling, but at the age of 12 it doesn’t matter,” Kelly said while describing the Oct. 16 incident, when an unidentified man in his late 20s followed the victim and her family into a local CVS. “They went off into a corner and there were times when he was not fully clothed.”

The man, whom authorities are on the lookout for, eventually coaxed the victim into the women’s restroom, where he allegedly raped her.

Kelly’s unfortunate phrasing is just that — incredibly unfortunate. However, the faux rage his “not necessarily all that unwilling” line has generated is more detrimental to this case than helpful. That’s because (a) it ignores the fact that Kelly interviewed the victim, and (b) takes attention away from the search for the suspect.

Should Kelly have used those words to describe a potential rape victim in a local news broadcast? No. But unlike the reporters and the aggregaters, he actually talked to her. He listened to her describe the man and the incident, as well as her own thoughts and feelings pertaining to the matter. So he probably has a much better sense than the Internet as to what was going through this poor girl’s mind when she was raped. (NOTE: I said Kelly has a much better sense than the Internet, not the victim.)

As for the second concern, the suspect is a white man in his mid to late ’20s. According to surveillance footage pulled from the CVS, he has a goatee and a “distinctive” hairline. Additionally, the victim noted that he had what appeared to be flecks of paint on his clothing.

If you have any information about the suspect, please call the Southside Place Police at 713-668-2341. If you’d like to bitch and moan some more in the comments, then have at it.

Check out the clip above, via KTRK.

[h/t Jezebel]
[Image via screengrab]

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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.