Don't say 'victim'

PORT CLINTON — An attorney representing a woman accused of falsely claiming a man raped her wants a judge to bar the prosecutor from calling the man a "victim" when her trial gets underway next month. Waters "Every person accused of an offense is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the burden of proof for all elements of the offense is on the prosecution," attorney Sarah Anjum, who is representing Arica Waters, wrote in a court motion. "Under no circumstances is (the man) legally (a) victim," Anjum wrote, asking the judge to bar the state from referring to him in that way. Waters continues to allege she was raped. Visiting Judge Janet Burnside has a number of pending motions, including whether she will let two women who say they also were raped by the same man testify at Waters' trial. Both women, and Waters, described similar patterns of alcohol use and inebriation when they reported being raped. Waters reported the man raped her after a pool party at his home. A detective determined she was allegedly lying about being raped. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost decided he would prosecute Waters when no other prosecutor would and indicted her in October 2020. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Register file photo The man — who will be Yost's lead witness at Waters' trial — denies he raped anyone. He said he had consensual sex with Waters; did not know the second woman and did not have sex with her or rape her; and was aware a third woman filed a complaint but said that it had nothing to do with him. Yost hopes to keep the women from testifying about any of it. If the other women were raped, justice could possibly come at a later date but it would have to wait until after Waters' trial, a prosecutor working for Yost told the judge. Yost refuses to say why he wanted to pursue this case, or what message he's sending. Advocates fear he's telling women that if they report sexual assaults and a prosecutor does not believe them they could be charged and put on trial. Waters is charged with making a false alarms and could be sentenced to 18 months in prison if she's convicted. The Register has been unable to identify any previous felony case in Ohio in which a woman was charged for lying about being raped that the attorney general took to trial.