Recently it was an American baseball star when outside the United States, in the Bahamas who was in the soup. He and his two mates are accused raping two seventeen year olds who are described as on holiday and coming from the University of Arkansas.
Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis began a preliminary inquiry on April 18 to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial. By that time, the baseball star's season will have started.
Published is the name of the baseball star, Florida International Garrett Wittels, but do we get the names of his two young female accusers? There is a sense in which by naming him and not the young women, he is counted as somehow guilty from the outset.
The young man's father Michael Wittels was reported in Miami Herald as saying: "Anyone can accuse anyone of anything at any time. He's not doing well, obviously. He's blown away. He's devastated that someone would accuse him of this." (WA Today)
Well-Being Australia chairman Mark Tronson, who is an advocate for 'framed' men in such situations has written of this numerous times. Men are particularly vulnerable in any social arena.
In two recent well publicised incidents involving Rugby League players the magistrate determined the young women could not be believed.
Increasingly it's becoming more and more difficult for young men of notoriety to go anywhere without needing their solicitor beside them whenever they have a conversation with a young woman, particularly if they have both had a bit to drink.
If she allows him to accompany her home, the young man needs a technology team with him to set up a cricket style multiple 'every angle' video footage so as to record every sentence, every vowel, every tonal change, every sweet nothing.
The situation today has almost reached a stage that young women are deemed potential lairs, changes-of-mind, highly dangerous. If they've had a few drinks, they may as well wear a sign that might read something like: "you're done like a cooked goose if I don't like you tomorrow".
Mark Tronson asks the obvious question: Who can live like this? What's going on out there?
Fortunately, he says, these comments for the most part are "exaggerations", but stated to illustrate the issue. The point is made however, that young men are vulnerable and for the most part are good boys who find themselves in almost impossible situations.
The Biblical story of Joseph comes to mind when Potiphar's wife threw herself at the handsome and desirable Joseph who knew in good conscience he could have no dalliance with her.
As he fled the scene, she grabbed his outer garment and then cried attempted rape. There was no DNA testing back then, and he was destined for the dungeon. It's this same scenario that is so troubling to men's advocates today.
Mark Tronson, who raised four children, now all adults, three of them daughters, says it's time for a reminder of the parents of young women to instruct their daughters in how to manage their desires for young men and how not to get into situations beyond their control.
For example, if a young man shows interest, and you like the look of him for all the right reasons, arrange to meet him in public at a specific time and place, where you can make a better assessment.
There are many similar suggestions for young women to take up when negotiating within their hearts, whether they might wish to pursue an initial contact. The problem is the classic real-estate gimmick, that if you don't sign up right now, someone else will come along. The response is that, if he's any good, and he likes you too, he'll meet you on your terms.
Perhaps there is good sense in the Agatha Christie's novels and likewise in the Miss Marple era (which is not that long ago), where a young woman needed to be 'introduced'. He recalls that he met his wife of 34 years, at a Baptist youth group, which was the place where many Christian young people sought the Lord for a partner in life.
It was a place of "introduction'.
Christian youth groups are no different today, he says.
