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A32 FEATURE
Monday 8 october 2018

#MeToo movement sends Hollywood figures into exile, not jail

By ANDREW DALTON help in newer investigations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The or be brought into court to
#MeToo movement has show a pattern of conduct,
sent dozens of once-pow- as they were for Cosby's
erful Hollywood players into trial.
exile, but few of them have "It just gives me peace to
been placed in handcuffs have it documented and
or jail cells. And it's increas- filed," Schuman said, "and
ingly apparent that the if my abuser does it again,
lack of criminal charges the authorities told me they
may remain the norm. could use me to help cor-
Harvey Weinstein has been roborate."
charged with sexual assault The sexual assault case that
in New York, and Bill Cosby sent Cosby to prison was
was sent to prison in Penn- from 2004 and long pre-
sylvania in the year since dated the #MeToo move-
stories on Weinstein in The ment. It was filed just as the
New York Times and The statute of limitations was
New Yorker set off waves expiring.
of revelations of sexual mis- California requires that
conduct in Hollywood. But charges be brought with-
those two central figures in a year for many sexual
are exceptions. crimes and within 10 years
A task force launched last In this Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 photo, Melissa Schuman poses for a photo in Los Angeles. for many of the most seri-
November by Los Angeles Associated Press ous crimes, including rape
County District Attorney and felony sexual assault.
Jackie Lacey to handle the initially reporting the inci- Carter of the Backstreet yond the limitations." The task force has been
surge in allegations against dents. Boys was rejected over the When law enforcement looking at allegations of in-
entertainment figures has While disappointed in the statute of limitations. "It felt agencies welcome women cidents that are sometimes
taken up criminal cases lack of results, several ac- therapeutic to tell the au- to report their experiences, decades old. One rejected
involving nearly two doz- cusers said they were still thorities, to be able to take it can eventually result in case against Spacey dates
en entertainment-industry glad they talked to police it out of my body and out more prosecutions, she to 1992. The allegations
figures. None has been and prosecutors, for a vari- of my mind and report it." said. against Moonves date to
charged. ety of reasons both practi- Fatima Goss Graves, presi- "In too many cases law en- the late 1980s. One case
The lack of prosecutions cal and emotional. dent of the National Wom- forcement has sent a signal for Toback dates to 1978.
stems from a clash be- "For me it was not necessar- en's Law Center, which that they won't treat these In documents released
tween the #MeToo ethos, ily closure, but one of the oversees the Time's Up le- issues," Goss Graves said. "If by the task force explain-
which encourages victims healthiest things I've ever gal defense fund, said for you've created a climate ing why charges were not
to come forward years or done for myself," said Me- some "the act of reporting, and space that is friendly brought, some officials
even decades after abuse lissa Schuman, whose case putting it on the record is to people coming forward, simply declare the effort
and harassment that dating to 2003 against Nick critical, even if they're be- more people will come for- pointless and say little else.
they've kept private, and a ward." In other cases, prosecutors
legal system that demands Schuman said she found provide long and some-
fast reporting of crimes and just such a climate. She times detailed descriptions
hard evidence. was well treated by task of acts and the laws they
The task force has con- force investigators and the may have violated, only to
sidered charges against police in what could have reluctantly conclude that
22 suspects, including been a much tougher pro- too much time has passed.
Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, cess. Page after page of the
director James Toback "I really felt supported, and documents end with the
and former CBS CEO Les- listened to, and cared-for same phrase, "prosecution
lie Moonves, all of whom and believed," Schuman is declined."
have denied engaging in said. Aside from confirming
any sex that was not con- Carter has denied the al- which cases it is consider-
sensual. legations from the start. ing and has declined, the
Charges have already He said through his lawyer district attorney's office de-
been rejected for most. when charges were de- clined comment for this sto-
Cases involving six sus- clined that he felt confident ry. California has already
pects, including Weinstein there would be no basis for altered its laws to help vic-
and Spacey, both of whom charges and was happy to tims, eliminating the stat-
have multiple accusers, re- put the matter behind him. ute of limitations for rape
main open. A representative did not re- and other forms of felony
In 14 of the closed cases, spond to a request Friday sex abuse. But courts have
charges were declined be- for further comment. ruled that statutes of limi-
cause the allegations were There can be more tan- tations cannot be altered
reported too late and thus gible benefits to reporting. to include suspects who
outside the statute of limita- In California, simply filing a are already past them, so
tions. The rest were turned police report entitles vic- the new laws only apply to
down either for insufficient tims to benefits that can crimes from 2017 onward,
evidence or because the Mary Schartman chants during the #MeToo into the Streets" pro- include free psychothera- meaning the practical ef-
accuser refused to cooper- test on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, in Cincinnati. py. The reports also create fects likely won't be felt for
ate with investigators after Associated Press additional claims that can years.q