[Iwo Jima]

how many times I have seen someone say.. "but the prosecutor must have some solid evidence, b/c he went forward with the charges.

You know the person that I am rapidly coming to feel the most sorry for in this particular situation? The DA, of all people!

Think about it. He really had no political way not to bring these charges... small town, complainant well known and liked or at least well connected (good friends with the sheriff), the accused is a big name from out of town, high profile case, lots of publicity... If he doesn't bring charges then the voters will be up in arms that he caved in to the "rich and famous who come to our town and rape our women." Of course, the accused and his supporters (by and large) don't vote in this town.

Yes, I know that DAs should bring or not bring charges based on the evidence and let the chips fall where they may, but the pressure is still there.

Anyway, he got the evidence that he thought that he would need to bring in a guilty verdict and then all this other stuff starts to come out. The way things are going, he may not even take this case to trial. A few more revelations about his star witness and he may plea bargain for a greatly reduced charge like kissing without permission (OK, I just made that part up) or dismiss the case outright. But at that point the story will have played out in public (which never would have happened had he not filed charges) and there would likely not be the public outcry which would have occurred had he not filed charges in the first place.