Posted on 02/15/2004 11:44:53 AM PST by BlessedByLiberty
A teenage rape victim excoriated Rep. Lynn Woolsey for intervening on behalf of the man who attacked her, and rejected the congresswoman's subsequent apology for seeking leniency from a sentencing judge.
"I don't accept her apology," said Tina Phan, who was 17 when Stewart Pearson, 20, of San Rafael, raped her in her Terra Linda home last summer. "She represents the rapist who took advantage," the victim said of Woolsey.
"The people that vote for her are saying the same thing and supporting the rapist. She can never say sorry (for the letter) because of what he did to me, and she is basically saying he should be let off the hook. She didn't do her part in representing Marin County."
Woolsey, D-Petaluma, who is seeking re-election in the 6th Congressional District next month, did not return a call requesting comment. She is opposed in the March 2 Democratic primary by consulting business owner Renn Vara.
Although the Independent Journal generally does not identify victims of sexual assault, Phan asked that her name be published. In court, she made a point of placing her name on the record.
Using her official congressional stationery, Woolsey sent a letter dated Dec. 2 to Marin Superior Court Judge Terrence Boren, saying Pearson had a "promising life ahead of him." Pearson's mother is an aide in Woolsey's office.
The letter, sent a month before Pearson's sentencing, said Pearson "is a young man from a supportive family," and that Pearson had volunteered for Woolsey and local nonprofit agencies.
But last Sunday, after an Independent Journal story about Woolsey's letter, the congresswoman apologized to Phan in a brief written statement given to the IJ.
Stewart Pearson pleaded guilty last Sept. 11 to raping Phan in July 2003. Phan awoke as Pearson tried to knock her unconscious by smothering her face with a rag soaked in household chemicals. He then raped her, according to court records.
Phan testified that Pearson, whom she had known since middle school, said he had done the same thing before - and that he intended to do the same thing again.
Pearson was sentenced to eight years in prison, the maximum allowed under a plea deal in which other charges of sodomy and assault were dropped.
Pressed on why she wrote the letter, Woolsey said last week she was not privy to the facts of the case.
"If she didn't know the facts of the case, she shouldn't have written the letter," Phan said. "If I was in her position, I wouldn't have written the letter. She used her power in the wrong way."
Woolsey's letter drew rebukes from a North Bay rape crisis official and from the Marin deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, who said the situation raised questions of propriety.
Contact Jennifer Gollan via e-mail at jgollan@marinij.com
Even if you don't defeat her, you can render Woolsey ineffective. Who would want to be accused of buying HER influence?
Three cheers for Tina Phan.
She's already exacted her culture's greatest form of retribution: "He humiliated himself, his whole family."
But she's obviously not done with the creep. More pain is to come.
I would very much hate to be in Woolsey's shoes right now. She's next.
It would not be surprising to see Tina Phan campaigning against her in the next election.
Unfortunately she's too young. A congressman must be at least 25 years old to hold office.
What did Woolsey think the guy was being sentenced for -- ripping the "Do Not Remove" tag off a mattress?
So, Woolsey not only defends violence against women, she defends hate crimes too? You know it this were a Republican, that's how the media would frame this.
Tina Phan is a brave young lady. She refuses to continue to be a victim. She is a survivor. Bravo!
She's Vietnamese. That says it all.
One thing about Woolsey, is that she is an unapologetic about her whacked out views. As a pro criminal lib, I can easily see her writing a letter on behalf of a rapist, without even looking into the crime.
I believe that Woolsey's story is that she was once on welfare, and she believed that qualified her to serve in Congress. Her district agreed and seent her there. I would much prefer to see her back on welfare and as far from Washington D. C. as possible.
That pretty much sums up all liberal decisions!
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