Woman Reporting that she was Raped is Arrested for Outstanding Warrant and then is Denied Morning After Pill

1001 Reasons LA is Better than Florida

#80 Imagine you are 21 years old, you get raped, and you have the courage to go to the police and turn to them for help.

Then imagine that the police run your record and find that you owe some money. Then imagine that the cops lock you up.

She was in Tampa on Saturday afternoon for Gasparilla, a pirate-themed parade that draws thousands each year. She said she was walking alone to her car when a man pulled her behind a building and raped her, McElroy said.

She reported the rape to police at 3:30 p.m. Responding officers took her to a rape-crisis center, where she was given the first of two doses of a morning-after pill, McElroy said. The second is supposed to be taken within 24 hours.

She was riding in a patrol car trying to locate the crime scene in the dark when a police check revealed an arrest warrant for failure to pay restitution. The warrant stemmed from a 2003 juvenile arrest for grand theft and burglary. It said she owed $4,585 in restitution, although her lawyer disputed that.

Then at your lowest, when it's time for you to take your second morning-after pill, it is refused to you because the jail employee responsible for dispersing the pill has religious beliefs that are in conflict with the pill.

Oh, Florida.

photo by fr1zz