Daisy Coleman: The Alleged Victim Under Fire

By Jody Miller

Before January 7th, 2012, Daisy Coleman was just a 14-year-old girl from Maryville. However, later that night, she became an alleged victim of rape. The story begins with Coleman and her 13-year-old friend having a sleepover and sipping on alcohol. Coleman was new to Maryville, and was receiving attention from a popular senior football player, Matthew Barnett. The two were texting, and as the night progressed, Coleman and her friend were picked up around 1 a.m. When arriving at the Barnett house, the girls were in a room with some of the school’s most popular students. Coleman alleges that Barnett gave her a large glass of “clear stuff” and coerced her into drinking more. In Coleman’s report, she states that drinking that glass is the last thing she remembers.

The next morning, Melinda Coleman found her daughter on the front porch barely conscious. She had been left outside for three hours in the below freezing weather, leaving her hair frozen. When Melinda Coleman began to bathe her daughter, she noticed physical signs that would suggest sexual intercourse and her daughter complained of pain. Coleman and her younger friend were then taken to the hospital.

At the hospital, both the girls were interviewed and they began to recall the previous night. The younger of the two claims that she had insisted no, yet a 15-year-old boy undressed her and had sex with her. She also stated that Coleman came out of the room, unable to speak coherently and unable to walk. She was carried out, crying. The friend insists that the boys said they would watch Coleman sober up outside, however she was left in 23-dregree weather with a high alcohol level in her bloodstream creating a really dangerous scenario.

Both Melinda and Daisy Coleman claim that the police handled the case unjustly. They believe that the dismissal of her case is due to the political connections the Barnett family allegedly has. Coleman’s case has been recently reopened and she is under fire for being an alleged victim of rape. A guest on a Fox News show stated that, “What did she expect to happen at one in the morning after sneaking out?” attorney Joseph DiBenedetto said on Shephard Smith Reports. “I’m not saying — assuming that these facts are accurate and this did happen — I’m not saying she deserved to be raped, but knowing the facts as we do here including what the prosecutor has set forth, this case is going nowhere and it’s going nowhere quick.”

This guest is a perfect example of the reaction Coleman is getting for filing a charge against her alleged rapist. The rape culture in this country allowed for a victim to be attacked for coming forward. Rape victims have been blamed for being provocative with their clothing and “asking for it”. Just because Coleman was drinking and out late, in no way suggests that she wanted to have sexual relations with any of the boys she was around. Yet, instead of Barnett, allegedly raping a girl and leaving her in the freezing cold to fend for herself, Coleman is being attacked for being that girl, and that itself is a disgrace to the very principles this country builds itself upon.