No Oppo Supporters Tanner Bruhn - charges formally dropped

[allrighty]

MOD Question:

How would folks feel if we gave things 24/48 hours to have their say on things, and then locking the thread and moving forward to pre-season discussion with players due to shortly return?

Obviously if there's any further developments or actions taken we can reopen the thread, otherwise look at this as the time to move on from the distractions of the past 9/10 months

Yes

 

[allrighty]

Apologies, sir. I couldn't help myself

Sir?

 

[allrighty]

You think this topic of false rape allegations against a footballer, and the sin he got into that led to it, is somehow divorced from philospohical or religious issues?

Those things inform and form all our worldviews. You can't have any real discussion without touching on them.

If people are able to blashpeme left, right and centre on BF, talk about racism, sexism, and any other "ism" you like, then a brief application of theology or phgilosophy is totally fair and resonable.

That's a no from me. I am as spiritual as the next person but this topic is OT on this thread.

Let's move on as the mods are requesting huh?

 

[iameviljez]

Sir?

Sir, Ma’am, Madamoiselle, Doctor, Mate, campaigner… append your favourite title there!

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

All this could have been avoided if the disgusting gynocentric misandrist mindset that plagues modern society of ‘believing all women’ was challenged and no longer adhered to.

It could never have been avoided as long as the police had eyewitness reports that they believed were strong enough and credible enough to take the matter to court. And that was the case here, even if some think the police didn't do enough to verify eyewitness statements. That's a different discussion. It was only when the main eyewitness recanted his statement in court and admitted he lied to the police because the alleged victim told him to that the case unravelled. Going into the case, I'm sure the police and the prosecution thought they had a solid enough case to get a conviction. I don't buy the celebrity conspiracy theories and all that. But this is the value of our justice system. Both sides are being tested, and hopefully, the truth will come out. This time it did, and that's a good result for justice in our state.

 

[Lana]

All this could have been avoided if the disgusting gynocentric misandrist mindset that plagues modern society of ‘believing all women’ was challenged and no longer adhered to.

Some harp on that it is absolutely vital that all women should be believed as if innocent men accused of these assaults are unimportant inconsequential collateral of that stance.

Well I say one innocent person suffering reputational damage out of 1 million is too much, particularly when some end up committing suicide.

Women are just as flawed as men and not above committing immoral, unethical, criminal conduct .As that attitude prevails it is not surprising that there will be women who would inevitably take advantage of it, especially as there appears to be no repercussions for said criminal behaviour.

There’s a middle ground between ‘not believing women’ and immediately treating any man that is accused as ‘guilty until proven innocent’.

Any of these sorts of allegations of a sexual nature should be off limits to the media (regardless whether they’re a high profile person or not) and heavy fines, in the millions if necessary, awarded to the accused to discourage the tabloid scum from ‘accidentally’ publishing the names of those involved.

These measures may never completely discourage low-live women from lying about these incidents for their own vindictive agendas ( some women take pleasure in how a false accusation can still linger on long after the case has been thrown out of court and cause damage to the reputation of a man anyway, and that’s often enough to sate their lust for revenge) but will significantly reduce it and that’s a good thing.

 

[iameviljez]

False accusations do happen and the consequences can be devastating.
But sexual assault is overwhelmingly under-reported and under-prosecuted, and far more women experience assault than men are falsely accused.

There's no need to swing to an extreme, we can support victims and defend presumption of innocence at the same time.

Hear hear. I think we are drawing too long a bow on this one.

 

[iameviljez]

It was only when the main eyewitness recanted his statement in court and admitted he lied to the police because the alleged victim told him to that the case unravelled. Going into the case, I'm sure the police and the prosecution thought they had a solid enough case to get a conviction. I don't buy the celebrity conspiracy theories and all that. But this is the value of our justice system.

I agree with this. People assume that the police should have known that the witness was unreliable; that's not necessarily realistic.

 

[TheWoodenSlug]

False accusations do happen and the consequences can be devastating.
But sexual assault is overwhelmingly under-reported and under-prosecuted, and far more women experience assault than men are falsely accused.

There's no need to swing to an extreme, we can support victims and defend presumption of innocence at the same time.

Agreed on all fronts, but it seems randyzany's point (though a little strongly worded for my liking) was that we should move away from an extreme ("believe all women"), not swing to an extreme ("believe no women", I guess).

 

[Kitcat]

One of the issues is why the police took so long over the various steps needed to investigate and bring it to the court, and whether there were any concerns raised by the evidence provided by the witnesses.

 

[Badtemperedbadger]

One of the issues is why the police took so long over the various steps needed to investigate and bring it to the court, and whether there were any concerns raised by the evidence provided by the witnesses.

In retrospect things seem glaringly obvious I grant that.
Reading the transcript of court hearing it does seem convenient that the chief witness did not have a record of the call he supposedly made to the alleged victim (xx) and I assume no record was on her phone either (supposedly was answered)
I would have thought ( maybe it’s just BS cop shows) a call could be verified via logs from mobile towers.
My point being the worst thing about this whole sordid story is it took so long to clear an innocent person.
We trawl through this now but TB has lived this for the best part of 18 -24 months.
This to me is where the system needs to be way better.
And might I add this goes both ways too

 

[allrighty]

Sir, Ma’am, Madamoiselle, Doctor, Mate, campaigner… append your favourite title there!

Hmmm I don't think your target poster is a sir is all I'm saying.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

The police and prosecution come out of this looking like absolute clowns. It's absolutely shocking they would prosecute seemingly without even doing basic fact checking on the key witness.

Thats victoria for you. Guilty until proven innocent

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Does anyone know the sort of shape physically he is in??

This kid deserves a standinf ovation during our first home game for what hes had to endure emotionallyand psychologically

 

[iameviljez]

Does anyone know the sort of shape physically he is in??

This kid deserves a standinf ovation during our first home game for what hes had to endure emotionallyand psychologically

This... feels very awkward, to me. I'd rather just get on with the footy tbh. He'll get a warm cheer on his first touch and straight back into it IMO.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

This... feels very awkward, to me. I'd rather just get on with the footy tbh. He'll get a warm cheer on his first touch and straight back into it IMO.

Lol. Welcoming someone back with a big applause whos had a tough time isnt awkward. Its a good culture

 

[Tony Barber]

The 11pm curfew stand

The good lawyers work stand.

 

[Tony Barber]

One of the issues is why the police took so long over the various steps needed to investigate and bring it to the court, and whether there were any concerns raised by the evidence provided by the witnesses.

Well for a start. The police from Ballarat were running the whole thing.

 

[Lana]

The good lawyers work stand.

 

[cats_09]

Well for a start. The police from Ballarat were running the whole thing.

No they weren't

Date of the alleged incident was 5 February 2023

The investigation started with the Geelong’s sexual offences and child abuse investigation team (SOCIT), with Detective Senior Constable Claire Ronaldson, from Geelong SOCIT the first to interview the complainant - and during this committal hearing raised concerns with the inconsistencies with the complainants story

An arrest plan was first put in place in July 2023, 5 months after the alleged incident - but this obviously didn't happen

14 months into the investigation, September 2024 is when this Tanner & Patrick were first bought in for questioning - the delay being due to lack of resources

It was then 18 months into the investigation that things were transferred from the Geelong SOCIT to the Ballarat SOCIT due to the conflict of interest with the fact that the head of Geelong's SOCIT is an assistant coach with our AFLW team


Maybe if it was the Ballarat SOCIT that was running the investigation from the start then things would have been handled in a more efficient manner due to removing the conflict of interest before it had a chance to impact things

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/sexual-assault-charges-against-tanner-bruhn-dropped-after-witness-admits-lying/news-story/64777993b6af73e67371f33d4017c46e

 

[Heckler]

STK schoolgirl scandal causes a media storm
The accused continued to play throughout.
Social media gossip re: Bruhn will be short lived
Once False Accusation verdict spread it will end.
Tanner will return highly motivated to make good.

 

[allrighty]

Maybe he could run out for the Vics?

 

[IHurley]

There's no need to swing to an extreme, we can support victims and defend presumption of innocence at the same time.

That's a contradiction. If he's innocent she's not a victim.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Agreed on all fronts, but it seems randyzany's point (though a little strongly worded for my liking) was that we should move away from an extreme ("believe all women"), not swing to an extreme ("believe no women", I guess).

But here's the thing: the criminal court system is not based on what you believe. It's not based on people's opinions of women and what they claim. It's based on evidence. And that evidence must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone is either guilty or not guilty. Randyzany's rant is irrelevant. Let's not let the actions of one misguided woman set us on the path to misogyny.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

That's a contradiction. If he's innocent she's not a victim.

He's talking in the general sense there