Remember, innocent until proven guilty

I would like to comment on the spate of sexual harassment allegations being made. I will try my best to make this comment purely investigative and not political. I do not automatically believe every allegation. Some are a quest for publicity, monetary or political reasons. Claims that are proven should be acted on immediately and severely. There is another side of the allegation coin. How does one defend themselves from an allegation that is 30 or 40 years old? Celebrities and politicians seem to be the most common targets. The more vague an allegation is, the harder it is to discount.

I am at a loss to explain why so many accusers wait so long to make their allegations.

It is unfortunate that allegations become fact in the eyes of the public. Remember the completely false narrative regarding the alleged rape by members of the Duke University lacrosse team? They suffered greatly before the charges were proven to be a lie. The story of a rape written about in Rolling Stone was widely circulated before it was discounted.

I think we would be better served if we considered these allegations as just that. We have been served by hundreds of years by the belief that “innocent until proven guilty” and we should continue that.

This story was originally published November 29, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Remember, innocent until proven guilty."