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Governor Will Not Be ProsecutedArnold "Just Playing Around" Says Attorney General Bill Lockyer; Guilty Only of "Frat Boy" Antics
Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger will take over for the recalled Gray Davis without the spectre of prosecution hanging over his head. This news comes from the office of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Lockyer announced that no charges would be sought against the bodybuilding governor for claims made by twelve different women who accused Schwarzenegger of unwanted sexual advances and groping. "Arnold is guilty of letting his 'frat-boy' antics get away from him," said Lockyer at a press conference earlier this week. "I'm sure he wouldn't have intentionally harassed any of these women and he didn't mean any harm." Lockyer's response brought cries of outrage from women's groups across California. "What he's basically said is that it's okay to sexual assault women if you're a celebrity," said Sally Knowles, a spokeperson for the National Organization for Women Rights. In response to these allegations, the Inquisitor interviewed a spokesman for the Attorney General was questioned about the extent of the "celebrity groping" defense, as it is being called. "The celebrity groping defense," explained assistant Attorney General Stuart Washburn, "is intended to apply only in very limited instances, primarily where the celebrity is very well known and the prosecution would damage the public's image of the celebrity beyond repair." Washburn was asked whether the "celebrity groping" defense would have benefitted other high profile celebrities who have faced or are facing prosecution.
Washburn was pressed further on the crimes of O.J. Simpson, accused of the double murder of his wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, but acquited by a jury. "O.J.'s alleged offense went a little beyond 'groping,' if you will," said Washburn, "but I still think given that he was such a great football player and he was so funny in those 'Naked Gun' movies, we could have found a way around putting him jail for double murder had he been convicted." California is often at the forefront of legal trends. However, many scholars see the "celebrity groping" defense as a step backwards in jurisprudence. |
"With Kobe Bryant, I think the answer is clearly yes," explained Washburn. "Here you have a star of the Los Angeles Lakers. To convict him for rape would seriously damage his reputation and certainly affect his basketball career, so I can say with some degree of certainty that Mr. Bryant would not be prosecuted had his alleged crime occurred in California."