National Post (National Edition)
Parsons’ father refutes reportage
The parents of a Nova Scotia teenager who killed herself earlier this month after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of boys at a party has responded to a National Post story that cites weaknesses in the case against the boys.
“I’m not upset or mad. A little disappointed maybe. The writer, Christie Blatchford, makes a few statements I would like to address,” writes Glen Canning, Rehtaeh Parsons’ father, in a blog post on his website.
In her column published in the Post and Postmedia newspapers on Friday, Ms. Blatchford explores why there might not be a case against the four boys accused by Ms. Parsons of raping her and taking a cellphone photo of the assault during a party in 2011. Bullied for months, the 17-yearold hanged herself on April 4.
Citing information from unidentified sources close to the investigation, Ms. Blatchford reported that Ms. Parsons initially told police she had consensual sex with two of the four boys, but was sexually assaulted by another. In a second statement to police about two weeks later, Ms. Parsons said she had told the two boys “No” and tried to get them off her.
There was also no evidence Rehtaeh was too drunk to consent, Ms. Blatchford writes.
On his blog, Glen Canning says his daughter was so intoxicated at the time that she was getting sick and didn’t remember clearly what had happened.
He said he agrees there are two sides to the story, but the fact his daughter was intoxicated changes the interpretation of what happened that night in a suburb of Halifax.
“What she did say was all over the map and that is exactly what one should expect it to be from a 15-yearold girl who remembers very little but is being swamped at school and online with slut stories about what took place,” Mr. Canning writes.
Mr. Canning takes issue with Ms. Blatchford’s interpretation of “consensual sex.”
“The two boys involved in taking and posing for the photograph stated Rehtaeh was throwing up when they had sex with her. That is not called consensual sex. That is called rape,” Mr. Canning writes.
“They also stated they had to get her dressed when they were finished. She was passed out. That is the story they told to anyone at Rehtaeh’s school who would listen.”
Leah Parsons also responded to the column, writing a note to Ms. Blatchford on a Facebook page dedicated to her daughter. “This article clearly highlights the “slut shaming” going on in our country and the abuse that Rehtaeh felt over and over for the past 18 months,” she writes.
Chris Hansen, a spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service, said she couldn’t verify the newspaper report’s account but explained that prosecutors were approached by police in October 2012 to determine if there were reasonable grounds to lay charges and secure a conviction.