"It's not a level playing field by any means," Karoly, of Allentown, said of what he characterized as improper implementation of Pennsylvania's rape shield law to protect the identity of this particular complainant. "Austin could not bring some of his teammates to the preliminary hearing [last Wednesday] for fear that it would be seen as an attempt to intimidate the accuser. Meanwhile, she was surounded by every available resource, including victims'-rights groups and rape-crisis counselors.
"Think about it. Austin Scott's name has been in every headline. His name and face are all over the television. Yet to this day, not even from her prior case in which her allegations did not withstand scrutiny, has her name ever been published or a single photograph of her been made known."
The protection of a sexual-assault victim's identity and sexual history are integral to Pennsylvania's rape shield law, and an issue over which Karoly and his co-counsel, State College's Joe Amendola, seem likely to battle with Centre County assistant district attorney Lance Marshall, who is prosecuting the case.
In a statement released Friday, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira and Marshall denounced Karoly's attempt to shift the focus onto the alleged victim's past as "irrelevant" and "inflammatory."
