Criminal defense raises challenges to sorority sex allegations
An investigation of sorority members at a state university in Georgia has resulted in the suspension of the sorority and the resignation of a female administrative employee who served as the sorority adviser. Authorities are investigating whether the woman was acting to sell the sorority pledges of Alpha Kappa Alpha at the Fort Valley State University to businessmen in the community for sexual activities. Criminal defense counsel for the woman said that the allegations were false and “incredulous.”
The pledges allegedly engaged in sexual play for pay to take care of their pledging fees at the sorority. Those fees could range from $700 to $2,500. The national sorority condemned the allegations and said that they did not reflect the service-based mission of the organization for the past 110 years. The group announced it had launched its own internal investigation.
Authorities indicated that two separate complaints were made in April but that one of those was made anonymously through the campus hotline. A university employee allegedly made the other. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has been investigating since the accusations were made. The failure to establish the allegations and to make any arrests may raise serious doubt about the outcome of the probe and may facilitate a defense by the accused administrator.
Criminal defense counsel will likely discount any validity to the anonymous call, which cannot be challenged or verified by investigative procedures. That call also may raise questions of whether revenge or some personal motive is at work against the accused woman. The fact that an employee made the other complaint tends to indicate that it may not be related to a direct source of facts. Of course, Georgia authorities may have additional facts that they have not yet released that will make the outcome more problematic for the suspect. Time will tell whether the probe is supported by baseless chatter or solid facts.
Source: atlantablackstar.com, “Georgia AKA Sorority Adviser Accused of ‘Pimping Out’ Pledges to Help Pay Initiation Fees“, Tanasia Kenney, May 2, 2018