Opinion Piece By Donna Westfall – October 19, 2017 – After researching , witnessing and reporting on the Bryan Ranger “rape” case, it occurs to me that there’s an entire category of the law that is missing.  That is; what happens to girls/women who falsely cry, “rape.”

Should there be consequences?  Should they be listed as a special breed of sex offenders?  Should they be listed on a registry of “false rape accusers?” Should their punishment be equal to the sentence meted out to those they falsely accuse?

Do men need rape shield laws of their own? Once a man is falsely accused of rape, convicted and sentenced, then trying to prove their innocence is a daunting task. Reputations are ruined.

In the Ranger case which had not one shred of forensic evidence, the only “real rape” that took place appears to be when Mercy Ranger at age 14, seduced by an older man,  had sex with Marcus Nash, her landlord’s son, who was in his 40’s.  That’s called, Statutory Rape because at 14 years old, the theory is that she’s not of an age to consent.

When the Crescent City-Del Norte County Taxpayers Association looked into the case after learning that Bryan Ranger was kept in jail for years without a trial, the only thing that made any sense after evaluating the reams of documents was that they agreed with the psychologist’s evaluation that Bryan did not fit the profile of a “rapist,” nor “child abuser.”  Had Mercy Ranger simply told the truth in 2013 in Family Court before Judge Follett about her sexual involvement with Marcus Nash, we have to wonder would the case against her father been dropped?

The only thing that made any sense was that Mercy was protecting Marcus Nash and in reality, the truth came out in 2014 when she confessed to the Attorney for the Prosecution, Joyce Blair, and Department of Justice Special Agent, Heather Nelsen, about having sex with Marcus. At that point, Mercy was living with Sasha Upton, Nash’s mother, going to college, riding horses and living a life without the strict fundamentalist Christian moral values instilled by her biological parents.  And when asked during Bryan’s trial if she had sex with Marcus, she admitted on the stand, “Yes.”

So, the local Tax Association deduced the truth before knowing the truth because it was the only thing that made any sense. Then, after the June trial when witnesses for the defense came forward angry about his Public Defender, William Cater, throwing his case, it was disclosed that telephone calls had been recorded between Bryan Ranger’s wife and Marcus Nash wherein Nash said, “… everyone knew there was no sexual abuse, …and had the Ranger’s signed guardianship papers over to Sasha Upton, Bryan would not be in jail, and the rest of his family consisting of eight children would still be intact.” This, however, does not help Bryan’s future who now faces over 100 years in prison. But, who is, in our opinion, an innocent man falsely accused and now convicted of rape and more.

In my opinion, there needs to be severe consequences for false rape accusers:

• Restitution? Absolutely!
• Being on a list? Certainly, so that people of the public can check just like they do a sex offender’s list!
• Face criminal charges?  For sure!
• Serve time in jail/prison equal to time served by those falsely convicted? Definitely!
• Face libel and defamation charges in civil court? It only makes sense!

Just like Megan’s Law created in the 1990’s after the murder of seven year old Megan Kanka by a sex offender that moved in across the street; Megan’s Law requires law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders; there should be a false rape accusers law. I suggest naming it Bryan’s Law for 67 year old Bryan Ranger who will probably spend the rest of his life in prison.

Another question to be explored; is there a cottage industry in this town of putting children into foster homes and adopting them out for profit often to abusive homes?