An Accusation of Serial Rape Is Too Serious To Turn It Into Vent-a-thon Porn

See updates below

In one of the most stunningly irresponsible blog posts I've ever seen, PZ Myers accused Michael Shermer of serial rape, naming him and giving what he says is part of the account given to him of a victim of the rape. I have no idea if the accusation is true or not but, either way, this belongs in the hands of a prosecutor or, at the very least, in the hands of a COMPETENT investigative reporter who could generate what Myers doesn't present, evidence to support the charge he made.   I have no idea if it is true or not and neither does anyone else but those making the accusation and Shermer.   Nothing has been proved, no evidence has been presented, only fragments of what Myers says is testimony.   All of this, so far, is based on Myers' say so.   And that isn't enough to know anything because he doesn't claim to have been a witness.  To increase the seriousness, the accusation is that he has raped many other women.

Myer's accusation was first published as a single allegation  he says is from a woman he says he knows, which may be entirely accurate or it may not be.  Later, after I briefly entered the discussion, he presented what he said was confirmation from another woman.  Both of the women are unnamed, neither of the statements I read were an entire document but were, apparently, edited by Myers.  One thing that all of us apart from the unnamed women knows, we don't know if what PZ posted was an accurate account of a crime or not.  But the person accused as a rapist is named.

If a charge of rape is true, the case should be given to the police or the prosecutor in the district where the crime was committed.  It is irresponsible to write a blog post about it before that is done.  Myers says that the woman making the accusation "reported it to an organization".

It’s been a few years, so no law agency is going to do anything about it now; she reported it to an organization at the time, and it was dismissed. Swept under the rug. Ignored.

Given how he phrased that, I gather the "organization" was not the police.  One of the problems is that Myers doesn't come out and say exactly what this means.   If the woman did give the information to the police, it's possible that they were negligent or it's possible her accusation couldn't be prosecuted.  We don't know because nothing is said about that.  If it's the case that the police were negligent then it is important for people reading his account to know that.  If that's the case, then their higher-ups should be made aware of the fact.  If the "organization" was not the police or prosecutor, then they should have had the account of the crime given to them.  An "organization" other than the police or the prosecutor's office can do nothing to bring justice in the matter.

An accusation made in such vague terms by an unnamed person against a named individual is extremely dangerous.  It could, conceivably, scotch a possible prosecution of a criminal or it could falsely destroy the life of an innocent person.   At this point, having gone this far, Myers owes it to Michael Shermer to reveal more about his accusation.   And, until the individuals who say they were attacked come forward, it is Myers who is making the accusation.   And he owes it to people who read him and, generally, to all of us.  If the women who are telling him this will not bring it to the police then there is nothing they can do about it, if they are not willing to do that they could bring it, as already noted, to a COMPETENT investigative reporter who will follow up their information to find corroborating accounts, testimony and evidence BEFORE PUBLISHING.   If the accusation is as old as Myers indicates, then all of that should have been done long before now, any possible future victims alerted by a legitimate criminal accusation or,  at the very least, a competently investigated and evidence based report in a reputable newspaper or magazine that passed by their editors and legal council.

No one is served by what Myers did except those of his fans who, by their disgusting behavior on his comment threads, prove that they are not interested in justice, they're interested in venting and posing and playing.   If Shermer is innocent, I hope he at least gets a cease and desist and gets Myers to stop doing this kind of thing.   If it were me, I'd be calling a good lawyer to bring a libel action against him.  If the accusations are true, that's an entirely different matter.  In that case I hope a prosecutor tells Myers to stop playing Grand Inquisitor and leave it to the professionals.  And then the professionals can deal with it professionally and responsibly.

I truly dislike Michael Shermer, I dislike his career and don't find him honest.  But I don't have to like him to know that no one should have to answer this kind of blog post and the jury of Myers' fan club which has already filled in for the lack of evidence and decided the case.  If he committed a crime, he has an absolute right to face his accusers in a court of law.  So would Meyers or the women who he says told him what he posted.  So would any of us accused of a very serious felony.   This isn't truth or dare, this isn't a game, it is entirely serious.

Update:  OK, as of now, this morning, the links seem to be working again.