The City of Madison will apologize to a sexual assault victim nearly ten years after her rape if a resolution introduced by Ald. Austin King, District 8, passes the city council later this month.
On Sep. 4 1997, a visually impaired single mother, Patty, was raped in her Madison home. Patty brought her story to the police only to be faced with skepticism and disbelief. Her story is the subject of Madison author Bill Leuders' new book, Cry Rape.""
According to King, who heads the ""Justice for Patty"" Campaign, she had to endure 19-hour interrogations by Axley Brynelson, a private firm hired by the city to defend civil rights lawsuits.
King said the questions Patty was asked were, ""outrageous, morally reprehensible and repugnant,"" adding that she was subjected to the same interrogation techniques used on drug addicts.
According to King, Patty admitted to lying about her rape to end the interrogation, an admission that resulted in seven months of charges from the District Attorney for obstruction of justice. She was exonerated only when Joseph Bong was convicted for rape in 2004.
Angela Rose, a victim of sexual assault and the national director of Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment said police ""treated her like a criminal.""
""They had absolutely no respect for the fact that she'd been through hell,"" King said.
After reading Lueders' book, King was moved to make the city apologize for its ""reprehensible"" actions.
King's resolution calls for an apology to Patty on behalf of the city as well as $35,000 compensation for wages lost, the closing of her business and legal bills due to her obstruction of justice charges. The resolution would also ban Axley Brynelson from doing business with the City of Madison for the next 10 years for their outrageous behavior.
Laura Dunn, a UW-Madison senior and another victim of sexual assault, said the resolution is more than just ""a hollow apology.""
""It makes amends for Patty having to fight, not only to get her rape taken seriously, and forces the city to recognize the harm it caused,"" Dunn said.
