Ex-Boyfriend Gets Woman Raped

Jebidiah James Stipe, 27, from Carbon, Wyo. broke up with his 25-year-old girlfriend but he was far from finished with her. In fact he hatched a scheme that would eventually make her life a living hell; destroy the life of not-so-innocent Ty Oliver McDowell, 26, from Bar Nunn, Wyo.; involve Craigslist in another scandal; give prosecutors a headache and the general public an insight into the depravity of a sick, conniving, malicious individual. 

This all began after Jebidiah Stipe, a Marine stationed at Twentynine Palms, Calif., broke up with his girlfriend from Casper Wyo. He then posted an ad in the "adult services" section of Craigslist, pretending to be his girlfriend. The ad said:

"Need a real aggressive man with no concern for women"

Stipe also included the woman's picture and personal information. The ad remained on Craigslist for two days before the ex-girlfriend saw it. She contacted the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, complaining that someone had posted a false Craigslist ad about her. She also complained to Craigslist, which took down the ad. But the damage had already been done.

The ad was spotted by Ty Oliver McDowell, a medical technologist, employed at the Wyoming Medical Center's radiology department. He e-mailed a response to the address given in the ad and began corresponding with whom he thought was a woman, but was really Jebidiah Stipe.

During the exchange of messages, Stipe, posing as his ex-girlfriend, explained exactly what "she" wanted - "humiliation, physical abuse, sexual abuse" - and gave Ty McDowell his ex-girlfriend's address. 

Taking this for an invitation, Ty McDowell went to the woman's house. When she answered the door he said "I'll show you aggressive," and immediately began to assault her. He forced her into the living room and bound, blindfolded and gagged the 25-year-old woman. Then he raped her as he pressed a knife to her throat.

Later, he told detectives he thought he was fulfilling her rape fantasy.

McDowell was arrested and charged with first-degree sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary. Stipe was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault.

According to a Marine Corps spokeswoman, Jebidiah James Stipe - a maintenance mechanic who had enlisted in the Marines in 2001 - was in the process of being ejected for an undisclosed pattern of misconduct at the time of his arrest. Documents related to Stipe's arrest have been sealed.

Craigslist has also come under fire for allowing the ad to be placed on its site. "Although Craigslist officials had cooperated with the investigation, the fact that they published sexually suggestive ads also facilitated the crime" said Natrona County Dist. Atty. Mike Blonigen:

"If I were king, I'd like to see them not run these personal ads," he said. "This is a debate we've had for a long time: . . . Do we censor the Internet?"

Steve Patterson, a spokesman for the Cook County sheriff who had sued Craigslist before, said the website wasn't blameless:

By hosting an adult services forum, "they create this specific place for criminal activity to take place," he said.

Craigslist had no comment on the case. But Federal law protects Internet sites from liability for their users' actions, said M. Ryan Calo, residential fellow at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.

"The idea was that these website platforms were truly communities assembled of random users, with no editorial control over what users were doing. Craigslist is like a hotel with millions of rooms, but it doesn't have the ability to figure out what's happening in those rooms," Calo said.

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13-Year-Old "Pinky" on Trial

"Pinky" is of course not his real name, but that is what he is called on the streets of Newburgh. His real name has not been released by the police because of his age - he is only 13 years old. "Pinky" has been accused of stabbing 17-year-old Levi King Flores to death in a street fight in which three other teens were also stabbed but survived.

Read about the details of the case here and here.

"Pinky" was originally charged with murder but because of his age and other factors he now faces:

1 Count Second-Degree Manslaughter (felony) 

3 Counts of Second-Degree Assault (felonies)

1 Count of Fourth-Degree Misdemeanor Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

For his own protection "Pinky" is being held in a secure youth detention center in Erie County. He had previously been jumped by other teens while in a Westchester County youth detention center. Also because of his age and the charges against him, "Pinky" is being tried as a juvenile in Family Court. According to the Times Herald-Record:

The longest sentence the boy could face is 18 months at a stretch in secure detention, but the state Office of Children and Family Services can return to court to keep a juvenile in secure detention until age 18.

His trial began on Wednesday, Feb.3, 2010 in front of Judge Andrew P. Bivona in Orange County Family Court. Senior Assistant County Attorney Allan Drian is the prosecutor in the case. The boy's lawyer is Stuart Greenberg. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

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On the first day of the trial, police testified that before they began to question "Pinky", his mother was advised, in Spanish, of the boy's rights. They say the boy assisted them by returning to the crime scene - at the corner of First St. and Carpenter Ave. in Newburgh - and helped them find the weapon he had used and then tossed away. Evidence against the 13-year-old includes a videotaped interview, DNA evidence and eye-witness statements.

Hinting at possible previous confrontations, the defense attorney, Stuart Greenberg, requested that the judge order the prosecution to turn over any documentation of arrests in connection with a gang assault on the 13-year-old and his sister prior to the stabbings.

The trial continues......

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