Posted on 12/09/2006 1:31:56 PM PST by Serb29
A judge denied bond today for a Lyons man who fled the country after being accused of the videotaped rape of a Naperville teen.
Burim Bezeri made his first appearance in a Cook County courtroom since ending a 27-month run that began when he and another defendant fled to Europe.
Bezeri, 21, returned to Chicago with FBI agents Thursday after surrendering to them one day earlier at an embassy in Tirana, Albania. His return came several months after two friends won acquittals.
“I’m very happy he’s back,” his uncle, Gjukaj Bezeri, said outside of court.
The defendant’s mother, Nushe, also attended the hearing, but declined to comment.
In this image taken from television, Burim Bezeri, center, is escorted to court by Cook County Sheriff's deputies Friday in Maywood. Bezeri, who fled the country after being charged with the alleged videotaped rape of a teenage girl in 2002 returned to the Chicago area Thursday after surrendering to FBI agents in Albania. (Associated Press Photo) Cook County Judge Kerry Kennedy denied a defense request for a bond to be set during the brief Bridgeview court hearing in which Bezeri pleaded innocent to bail jumping charges. He is due in court again Jan. 16.
His attorney, Patrick Campanelli, said Bezeri tried for at least six months to come back but ran into red tape without a passport. The FBI assisted him in his return.
“I think he’s happy that he’s back,” Campanelli said. “It’s a relief not being chased and to return to face charges he always believed were not based in fact.”
Bezeri and a friend, Adrian Missbrenner, disappeared September 2004 while facing a 120-count indictment alleging they took part in a videotaped rape during an underage drinking party near Burr Ridge.
They fled to Mexico and later made it to southeastern Europe, where both have family. Nine months later, Missbrenner returned from Serbia. His surrender came just 10 weeks after another friend, Christopher Robbins, of Brookfield, won an acquittal.
Last March, a second jury also acquitted Missbrenner of any wrongdoing related to the Dec. 7, 2002, underage drinking party in his home. Missbrenner, though, is a convicted felon for jumping bail.
On the tape, Bezeri and Missbrenner are seen having sex with the intoxicated girl. Robbins admits having sex with her off tape. They said the sex acts were consensual.
“I’m in a big mess for simple reasons,” Bezeri said after an April 11, 2003, court appearance in which he described his mood as “terrified.”
The Naperville woman, though, said she did not know any of them. She doesn’t have a memory of what happened that night after she vomited in a bathroom. Prosecutors argue she was too drunk to consent.
Two juries disagreed. A few jurors who watched the tape later told the Daily Herald that the girl appeared a willing participant.
A fourth defendant, Sonny Smith, 22, of Brookfield, pleaded guilty to child pornography and is on parole.
Unlike his two acquitted friends, though, Bezeri may not do as well at trial. He is seen at the end of the tape inserting a cigarette into the unconscious girl’s body - which is a separate alleged sexual assault charge - and spitting on her.
“What he does at the end of the tape … is distinct from what the other two were tried for,” said George Acosta, the young woman’s civil attorney.
During both trials, she testified she awoke that next afternoon nude from the waist down in a bedroom she did not recognize with slurs such as “slut,” scribbled in black marked across her body.
I don't remember this case (I know, shame on me, I live in Chicago, so I should), but what this guy did was sick. I hope he gets put in the general population.
He's caucasian, so he'll get the "full monty," no pun intended.
He may look Caucasian, but Albania is 90% muslim.
Sounds like a pretty standard Albanian date.
"He may look Caucasian, but Albania is 90% muslim."
The two are not mutually exclusive.
And the number is 70 percent muslim.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/al.html#People
I don't remember the case, but legally guilty or not, no real man takes advantage of an obviously intoxicated woman. If he needs sex so bad he'll do it to a drunk he'll be a little boy the rest of his life.
Also, the cigarette thing and the spitting thing...he's a real class act.
Just an example of what the Serbs had to put up with from the Albanians in Kosovo!
Albania is 70% Muslim and 100% Caucasian.
Are you suggesting that the Serb Army was raped by the KLA thus prompting retaliatory genocide?
I know I will be vilified for this, but I actually am on the other side on this one. I know some facts about this case to an extent, and I can say honestly about 99% of the population that has heard this story has it all wrong, none of it their fault, but rather reporters concocting a totally different story for their own twisted purposes, led by the state prosecutors. I will include some links at the bottom of my post showing the interesting turns this case took (although it will be through the distorted words of the press, just watch for changes in the prosecution's story). Initially, the story was this 16 yr. old GIRL was totally unconscious, dragged into a room and brutally raped by four MEN (the truth is two of them were a couple months older, two were one year older. Every news broadcast I saw seemed to have different ages at times... once they showed some average guy walking into the courthouse, and thought he was one of 'em...cameras chased right after him...poor guy probably just went there to fight a speeding ticket, managed to get his face all over the channel 5 news with a title of "rapist". Sounds about right for the news.) Over the course of the pretrial mumbo-jumbo, it was determined that the tape (yes, there was a tape made) would be allowed to the jurors to view as evidence. Several day later, the prosecutors changed their stance, now stating she was indeed conscious (well, they use semi-conscious, but remember she was initially knocked out and dragged into this room, this coming from people who new better, who had seen the tape and knew what was on it, just were not prepared for it to be able to be viewed by the jury, counting on some help from the rape shield law. (Which I agree with to some extent, but man, does it need some serious work...good concept, but doesn't serve the purpose it was meant for, in my mind.) Now she was "too drunk to consent" (I don't know where to begin there....I had never heard that one, and although I agree once again with the concept, make it a valid excuse in a court of law once and everyone can probably get away w/ murder if they're too drunk to know better, with the right attorney.) OK, I could go on with these facts all day long, I'll let the articles speak for themselves, they DO tell one or two facts correctly :) ...anyways, two boys ran overseas, one to Serbia, one to Albania (yes, an Albanian and a Serb can be friends). The third kid (the director of this porn, never seen in the video) plead guilty to child pornography, recieveing three months of boot camp. The fourth proceeded to trial, and the verdict was a swift not guilty. Rape advocates immediately went into a blind fury, and the story, already a pretty big news locally, was building more momentum. Public was up in arms...how could this poor girl get raped/gang-banged (pardon the term) by four men at once (she wasn't, she picked them out one at a time) and then get drawn and spit on possibly have asked for it?!? Oh, and let me stop there. One of the BIGGEST misconceptions was that all these boys spit and drew all over her. WRONG. The one facing the upcoming trial spit on her once, and did insert the cigarette. But it was in fact two other young men not included in the "rape", who entered the room at some point later in the evening, and did almost all of it...wrote vulgar words on her, and spat repeatedly on her (in my OPINION, the morally worst part of what happened, but after what just occurred, they probably really did think pretty lowly of her....not defending, just stating). So those two plead guilty and received two weeks of community service and two years probation. It may not mean much, but simply having sex with someone vs. having sex and proceeding to draw and spit on them, at least to me, is a big difference so I want to separate them at last. All that taken into consideration, this is still NOT A RAPE BY ANY MEANS, and I want to make that point clear. OK, back to the 1st trial results and their aftermath. The jurors, well, they were publicly perceived as morons, each and every one, not verbally, but everyone thought it....what a lot of people missed or maybe even ignored was in my mind the most interesting remark to note of this trial. It was that of a female juror in the trial (a mother in her 40's, I believe, and the only juror to make any comment) who stated on her way out of the courtroom to the cameras, "The tape was all we needed. THIS GIRL WAS AN OBVIOUS PARTICIPANT." (link below)
So now the one hiding in Serbia finally returns, hopeful that he may not be perceived as a rapist by the public anymore. You see, initially these guys were allowed to go to school, which public really ripped 'em for, assuming they just went back to normal everyday life, those lucky ducks.....c'mon, let's think about what high school was like. It was a big gossip party...imagine everyone thinking you were now a rapist....They were bashed by students and teachers to no end. Their school paper even bashed them in several articles, and this was before ANY trials or hearings). With the exception of family and a few friends, the whole world wanted to get a piece of these guys, much like the 1st few replies I saw here (not criticizing, just stating :) It is in my mind this very reason why the two fled, assuming they have no chance if their own school was already convinced, as well as what they were seeing of themselves on the TV. Anyways... he returns (I believe he turned himself into the US embassy in Belgrade), and the press are all over it. The "rapist" is found! Fast forward to his trial, the girl is put on the stand to testify. The defendant's atty. requests she watch the tape. She refuses. The story instantly became national news, being talked about in national shows such as O'Reilly Factor and Larry King. So next day, after probably countless petitions, as well as being totally slammed for it in the news that night, the judge agreed not to pursue the threat of having to watch the tape (slightly swayed by the public...this is a JUDGE.) But think about this, he has already seen this tape as the judge, he ruled it admissible, after all.... if he honestly felt it was potentially harmful for her in any way, do you think he would've forced her to re-live it? I don't criticize at all the activists that came to the support if this girl, but the difference between them and the judge was, he had seen this thing. If the activists, or anyone who is indeed a rape survivor (brutal or non) actually saw that tape, I wonder what they would've thought then...OK,OK, so trial proceeds...the jury (6 men, 6 women, the jury's chosen speaker was actually a school principal!) watches the tape. At the closing arguments (where technically no new info. is "supposed" to be presented, only reiterated, simply due to the fact that defense has no ability to prove or disprove anything factually simply through responding with a closing argument) the prosecutors jack up the volume to like 500 decibels, and you hear something said that's totally inaudible (at max volume, what's not?!?). After the playing of the audio clip, they say what one of the boys is actually sayings is, "Good drugs paying off...(?)" Those four words. Mind you these boys were all born and raised here their whole lives to my knowledge, and I've never really heard anyone with a decent grasp of the English language speak that broken...example: "Bad dog bite me." Prosecutors did, however, wisen up before speaking to the press I believe, managing to throw an "are" in the middle, not huge, but sure sounds real weird without it. Four hours later, another not guilty verdict. People in this area still have the same feelings a lot of you had/have, only a few of us who actually studied into this case defend them. So now the third and final "rapist" has returned. After 24 jurors, who have seen all the facts presented, unanimously decided the same conclusion, the public has not wavered. After all, all they saw on behalf of the defense was an interview one of 'em did, the day after getting out. Thinking back, even I wanted to punch the kid, and I knew he was a very good kid who made a mistake...but man, after over half a year in jail, that kid's smile was so damn big, I think whoever disliked him already now wanted to tie him in the basement and torure him. He was ecstatic to be free, the one thing he did not do was apologize to her, which although it may have been the "morally right" thing to do, this girl had him runnin' through Europe for safety, then returning and sitting in jail for months. I don't know if would've apologized to a girl I never raped, yet went to jail over.The public has yet to really hear the real facts of this case, in my opinion mainly due to the defense seemingly not wanting to fight the "media war" with state prosecutors, instead counting on the truth setting them free. So far, so good...2 down, 1 to go. When this is over, I will follow up to see and tell the result. I only fear this last one may take a plea bargain, causing all of them to be judged as guilty by the public. I hope he stays strong... I know some, if not most of you, will not agree with me on this one, and I understand. That's why I would only post this on this FR, I believe that most people here are smart enough to look beyond the media, and think for themselves. For anyone undecided at this point, I will not hide anything here. I know these kids, I've known them for years and have defended them at every opportunity, so anything I say can most definitely be perceived as biased, and I understand that as well. Definite dumb-ass teens they were, but not one of these guys has the character(or lack of) or mindset to truly rape a girl, knowingly or otherwise, and all have loving families (another fact - they were ALL drunk...In NO WAY an excuse in the slightest bit, I'm stating this for comparison purposes...read the articles (I like to call them fairy tales), they all state her as wasted and these boys as some sober criminal masterminds, like they had it planned in advance. My point here was not necessarily to convince anyone here of the innocence of these boys, I know it won't be easy, but rather to shed some light on the other side of this story, so no one runs with the media on everything they may say, without thinking through the facts a bit. I in NO WAY APPROVE OF ANYTHING THEY DID THAT NIGHT, even knowing in my heart it was no rape. She was drunk, they were drunk..... it was the 1st time they had met her....she wanted to have sex with all of them (my opinion of course, just explaining why I would've gotten the hell outta there...I don't care for the type that wants me AND my friends). But it was no rape. This was drunken consensual teen sex that I'm sure all regretted immediately the next day. I'll find some related stories on the web to link, and there are a ton. You can find a lot more, some more biased than others. If you like, it may be possible to view the transcripts via internet...I dunno the legality part of it, is it obtainable with a related trial pending? All I ask is read it knowing the way politics and the media can run with things, and at least keep it a possibility that these guys did nothing illegal. The reason I mention politics is this happened to occur just before voting for new judge appointments, promotions, etc... Before I wrap this novel up, thank you for having read and hopefully processed most of this.... here in Chicago they are already labeled as rapists by the public and still to some extent by the press, even though not one conviction has been made, other than fleeing the country out of fear of an unfair trial (oh, and the one who plead guilty for filming it got child porn). I know I will get rebuttals and I welcome them, just please be civil about it. I'm not here to start a fight, only to try to make both sides heard.
I had facts about the two previous trials I was going to unleash, but I thought about it, and I shall await the final trial. I don't know what I can or cannot say just yet, and these are court-related facts, probably a bad idea to bring them up just yet....sorry.... I only fear the last guy takes a plea bargain, which he might. He did spit on her once, he did insert a cigarette into her. I feel terrible about what they did just writing this, but I beg you to see this for what it is. Or isn't. This is a trial for a reported rape. Although morally disgusting, she was not raped. I do feel bad for her to some extent. I think perhaps after the other guys wrote on her after she passed out, maybe she thought that something else happened sexually after she passed out. But I also strongly feel she should've watched the tape. Mean as that may sound, if you supposedly have no recollection of what happened, how do you know you were indeed raped? And as painful as it may have been, if it's for the sake of putting away your so-called "assaulter", is the vindication not worth it? That one may not ring true for all, I don't know, I'm a male, and obviously never raped, so I have no right to say what should be done. Just my opinion, as well as the way the system is supposed to work... you have to have the right to confront your accuser, using any information deemed admissible, which this was. It's every American's right. But without it, being unconscious and all, how do you they didn't just draw on you?
So, read their blurbs, tell me your honest opinion. I want these kids to have the ability to go on with their lives, not have to worry about somebody wanting to kill them for what they saw on the news one day.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=News&id=161473
http://www.nbc5.com/news/2266464/detail.html
http://www.nbc5.com/news/1909687/detail.html
http://www.handelonthelaw.com/news_details.aspx?News=2274&Date=3/1/2006
http://www.nbc5.com/news/7557297/detail.html
http://www.nbc5.com/news/1945779/detail.html
http://www.nbc5.com/news/4289505/detail.html
NEXT ONE IS KEY! (see any changes in the story yet?) sorry, it's all I could find about the juror's quote, but she's not unsure at all, she is convinced.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2750&item_id=0199-3935296
http://www.nbc5.com/news/4539835/detail.html
http://www.nbc5.com/news/7629560/detail.html
http://www.nbc5.com/news/7661247/detail.html
http://cbs2chicago.com/seenon/local_story_341203946.html
when all else fails....
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_064145932.html
REMEMBER- what you read was all that was mentioned of this case, one side only, the side of the prosecutors, fabricating this tale, media gobbling it up every bit of it.
For an idea of the local opinion of these guys after being viewed as not guilty by 24 neutral jurors that were given ALL the facts:
http://chicago.metblogs.com/archives/2006/03/drunken_drugged.phtml
PS- This IS a novel...sorry...and thank you for reading.
Not a problem, John...just something to keep in the back of your mind. Like I said, I'm fairly confident of the outcome, most of the kids are free already, and this kid in the 1st part of the tape, so if she was obviously conscious at the middle and end of the tape, guess about her state in the 1st part ...but like I stated in the post, I have nothing to really prove here, I'm just trying to show you guys something I felt needed to be addressed, and it has. And no, I'm not one of them, nor did I register to even talk about this subject. I only posted because knew the story fairly well, living nearby, and as I mentioned, yes, I do know them, and felt I had something to add, whether you think about it or completely ignore it is your choice, of course. Glad you took the time to read it. And yeah, WAY too huge of a post, I had no idea I had so much to say. As for the reason I joined FR, I have read these forums from time to time for a while now, and was pleasantly surprised at some people's comments on their opinions about what happened in Kosovo, ...I wanted to thank them, and share my thoughts, and will continue to, as I feel it's a very important not just for Serbia, but globally.
Yeah, yeah, I know..."Serb29"...terrible, huh? God forbid I remember and embrace the country my family came from, and am proud of it....something must be wrong with me!
If she was drunk, it is a case that jurist get confused about. It works for the Defense of the as....hol... In my opinion the benefit of the doubt should go with the woman and all participants charged with sexual assault and put in prison with the general population. Under any circumstances if she says no even drunk it now becomes rape no matter with one or more. The benefit of the doubt should go with the woman, and make the men totally responsible for their actions. I teach the classes for women defense and have no sympathy for a man who continues with sexual advances with a woman at a disadvantages. Granted......listen up...there is a percentage that screams rape afterwards for many reasons. So be it, then it's the mans responsibility that he be sure she is hot for his bod... :) and he can trust her not to scream rape. Otherwise, too bad if she does.
You also commented about "what happened in Kosovo"? It is disgusting what is presently happening in Kosovo and what my country is doing there....
Serbian police seize 276 pounds of heroin
Posted on : Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:46:00 GMT | Author : World News Editor
News Category : World
New ( News Alerts by Email click here )
BELGRADE, Serbia, Dec. 11 Serbian police seized 276 pounds of heroin hidden in a Montenegrin truck that tried to cross into Serbia at the southern town of Novi Pazar.
Police said it was one of the biggest drug seizures in Serbia, which is a major route for drug and human smuggling to Western Europe.
The heroin was of exceptional quality and its market value was estimated at $7.9 million, the Serbian news agency Beta reported Monday. In a statement, police said the truck was stopped at a control point during the weekend at Novi Pazar, close to the Serbian-Montenegrin border. The heroin was wrapped in 240 taped packages and stashed in spare tires.
A 45-year-old Montenegrin national who was driving the truck was detained for questioning, the report said.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/13047.html
Proof please
I will after the completion of the last trial. The answer is on the tape.
I just came across this site and was totally blown away by your post. Excellent job! You are obviously more informed on this subject then anyone else who has posted their opinion, and have done a ton of reading and research to back yourself up.
I definitely have to agree with you about the media part, unfortunately they are the ones who dictate the pre trial guilty or innocents of people. Of course in the case of a gang-rape of a 16 year old girl the media is going to spin to make the 4 guys look like the scum of the earth before any bit of actual facts or evidence comes to light.
To: John Williams
I wish this Serb29 was one of the men involved in this case, their names have been through the mud and back and they have every right to defend themselves. Especially considering 3 of them have been found not guilty of rape. Serb29 has only stated facts in this case without all the fluff that sells in media.
To: AppyPappy
You want proof that she wanted to have sex with all of them. Well so far 3 juries have been led to believe by this tape that she was a willing participant with at least 3 of them. As for the 4th man, we will all know soon enough. The jury is meant to represent the public ( or us ) and we put our trust that they wouldn’t let a rapist or murderer loose on the streets to hurt us or them again. So I have faith that they did the right thing in all cases thus far.
Now with all things considered, who’s the real victim in this case? The girl who got drunk, did some things that she most likely regretted, and claimed rape. With no proof that rape actually occurred. I mean, if your going to claim that you were so drunk that and don’t remember anything How on earth can you point a rape finger at 4 guys.
Or are the true victims the young men in this case who have lost years ( the best years imo ) of their lives to this girls accusations. Guilty or innocent, they have all paid a huge price for that one night in December.
Thank you for your response and I applaud you for your ability to not be brain-washed by the news, and seeing things for what they are. Recently in the news, better-known cases such as the boys from Duke are alerting people that just because a girl cries rape doesn't make it so, regardless of what the media will initially spin the story into. And yes, I agree with you that the fact that she was drunk excuses nothing. For example, people get drunk at bars and go home with strangers on any given night. It doesn't give them the option to, if they regretted it the next day, claim they were raped because they were too drunk to know better, destroying peoples' lives in the process. The process of disseminating the facts from the lies is up to the jury, and their decision is the real truth. Anyone who assumes they know more than all the jurors of the trials WHO ACTUALLY VIEWED THE INCIDENT ON TAPE and came to a unanimous decision should realize that their opinions are being given to them by the 5 o'clock news.
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