[SteveFromNY]

Originally Posted by tony

I had already deleted similar posts twice, as I explained. I left that post to at least let others know the topic has been posted yet again, so somebody would not post again and so I would not have to delete yet another.

I asked anybody with definitive information to come forth. One did.

Now we have strong reason to think the story is untrue, the location name is not revealed, and I am a little happier.

Agree it was a good call, and didn't mean to sound critical of you guys at all. I was only trying to make the point (being the incredible skeptic I am) that this kind of rumor could cause undue concern among people.

With strong reason to believe it is untrue, it is better to keep it posted to dispel future rumors. Sorry!

[lm01]

I believe that this post should be deleted. For several reasons really, The person who started the topic has very limited activity on totv over a long period of time. This person made a total of 17 post and initiated 3 topics, which makes me wonder if they are From the Villages or and outsider and whats their intent. If they are from the Villages please forgive me, but if not I feel that there are other motives running here.

Taking pot shots that hurt a community or its people is not right.

2nd please look or subscribe to the Ocala Newspaper they have crime blotters that cover our area in the Villages. To think crime does not exist is foolish to say the least and the Villages Sun does cover them but maybe not to the extent we all would like.

In this case I believe the post should be deleted esp if it was by an outsider.

Orlando sentinal Police Blotter
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/new.../archives.html

Villages Reporter
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/s...ory=REPORTER08

Originally Posted by lm01

I believe that this post should be deleted. For several reasons really, The person who started the topic has very limited activity on totv over a long period of time, which makes me wonder if they are From the Villages or and outsider and whats their intent. If they are from the Villages please forgive me, but if not I feel that there are other motives running here. Taking pot shots that hurt a community or its people is not right. 2nd please look or subscribe to the Ocala Newspaper they have crime blotters that cover our area in the Villages. To think crime does not exist is foolish to say the least and the Villages Sun does cover them but maybe not to the extent we all would like.

In this case I believe the post should be deleted esp if it was by an outsider.

She looks like a Villager according to her previous posts.

Google "rape" and "statistics".

You will get information like this--

"SILENT VICTIMS :

One of the most startling aspects of sex crimes is how many go unreported. The most common reasons given by women for not reporting these crimes are the belief that it is a private or personal matter and the fear of reprisal from the assailant.

Approximately 28% of victims are raped by husbands or boyfriends, 35% by acquaintances, and 5% by other relatives. (Violence against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994)

The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.

In 1994-1995, only 251,560 rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials -- less than one in every three. (National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.)"

Tony has done the best he could do with the resources available. Think he made a very good call to keep this up.

[The Great Fumar]

READ MY LIPS....

iTS JUST A NASTY RUMOR ....NO SUCH EVENTS EVER HAPPENED..........

FUMAR

[Frangyomory]

When I heard there were break-ins in Tall Trees but nothing in he paper, I called the Sumter County Sherrif's office and they were very cooperative and even told me the exact strees the break-ins were at.

Personally, I don't think anything like the alleged things has happened because in the Villages word of mouth is the fastest means of publicity!!!!!!!

If you are really worried, call the sherrif's office.

Originally Posted by Frangyomory

When I heard there were break-ins in Tall Trees but nothing in he paper, I called the Sumter County Sherrif's office and they were very cooperative and even told me the exact strees the break-ins were at.

Personally, I don't think anything like the alleged things has happened because in the Villages word of mouth is the fastest means of publicity!!!!!!!

If you are really worried, call the sherrif's office.

If it is a victim who has only talked about this to her friends and not to the police, then this might have happened. We do not have much to go on with this rumor about number of victims, relationship to assailant, description of assailant(s), and most importantly whether or not any report was made to the police. Most sexual assaults are not reported to the police or at least a majority of them are not. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001537.html

This might just be someone who uses the Internet as a weapon by spreading vicious rumors about a certain business, but from what I have seen we do not have enough information to make that assumption either.

to answer IM01 I am a villager. I am seriously offended. Fortunate for me however I have a full time job and do not spend a lot of time on the forum as many of you do. I had called the Sherrif's office and was told that they could not release that type of information so I put this on the forum to see if I could get a clear answer since it is the talk of the neighborhood. Didn't mean to get everyone in a tither about it I just wanted to protect myself and others if this was the case. Based on the posted free for all ,this doesn't seem like a very friendly place to express concerns or pose questions so from now on you will never hear from me again!

Originally Posted by LAVNDR

to answer IM01 I am a villager. I am seriously offended. Fortunate for me however I have a full time job and do not spend a lot of time on the forum as many of you do. I had called the Sherrif's office and was told that they could not release that type of information so I put this on the forum to see if I could get a clear answer since it is the talk of the neighborhood. Didn't mean to get everyone in a tither about it I just wanted to protect myself and others if this was the case. Based on the posted free for all ,this doesn't seem like a very friendly place to express concerns or pose questions so from now on you will never hear from me again!

The concern seemed to be with the posting of the name of the business on a message board that conceivably could be seen by anyone with access to the Internet all over the world.

I am sorry that more people did not assume that you posted with the best of intentions.

[ConeyIsBabe]

I am an outsider, a newbie, and a wannabee !! I do find articles like this one interesting even though it's unclear whether or not the incident has occurred. Having worked 18 years in law enforcement (as a secretary) I know that all crime incidents where there is a written report is PUBLIC INFORMATION. All one had to do was request the report and perhaps pay a small fee for the copy.

[Russ_Boston]

Thanks for the info CIB.

This 'story' has made the rounds for a long time. It is similar to the many things people get in their in-box and then panic. Like the bogus e-mail about cell phones about to be called by telemarketers. There are many stories on http://www.snopes.com/ (I strongly request that everyone look at this site before passing on any e-mail warnings) which refer to rapes or attacks at various public places. They are meant as scare tactics and some people don't know how to react and therefore are understandably alert.

I'm glad to know that IF a incident happened then the police must make that public knowledge. Is that the same rule in FLA?

Russ

[ConeyIsBabe]

Russ; That is/was the law in Miami, Florida where I worked. Every day the local newspaper reporter would go to the Records section and pull all the written reports to print the list of crimes. Records personnel would black-out the names of minors or certain restricted information, but the records are PUBLIC and anyone else requesting them would be allowed to view the reports. P U B L I C R E C O R D S !!

[Village Kid 2]

While it's true police reports are considered public records, there are many exemptions to a public records request including anything that is considered an "ongoing criminal investigation" where no suspect has been arrested. See Chapter 119, Fla. Stat.

VK

Originally Posted by ConeyIsBabe

Russ; That is/was the law in Miami, Florida where I worked. Every day the local newspaper reporter would go to the Records section and pull all the written reports to print the list of crimes. Records personnel would black-out the names of minors or certain restricted information, but the records are PUBLIC and anyone else requesting them would be allowed to view the reports. P U B L I C R E C O R D S !!

That's assuming these alleged rapes were reported to the police. They may have heard rumors about these but cannot go further with it because of lack of information about who, when, and exactly where these alleged rapes occurred.

The Villages Daily Sun does have a police log of sorts which lists arrests and the like.

Snopes.com is run by a couple--the Mikkelsons-- in the Los Angeles area who get funding from advertisers and donations I believe. It is kind of like TOTV. This couple gets information from probably using Google as well as people who e-mail them and/or other sources.