Cry Rape: The True Story of One Woman's Harrowing Quest for Justice

Chronology

271 Chronology Note: The tale told in this book includes a number of surprising developments, which this chronology necessarily reveals. Readers may prefer to let the story unfold without looking ahead to these developments as they are set forth here. setember 4, 1997 Patty is raped by an armed intruder in her east-side Madison home. Police are called and collect evidence. setember 8, 1997 Tom Woodmansee, a Madison police detective, begins work on the case. He becomes skeptical of Patty’s account and soon focuses his investigation on her. october 2, 1997 Woodmansee summons Patty to a meeting at police headquarters under false pretences, where he and another detective, Linda Draeger, confront her with their conclusion that she lied about being raped. They use pressure and deception to get her to recant. Afterward, Patty immediately renounces this recantation and returns to her original account. october 22, 1997 The Wisconsin State Journal runs an article based on a police department press release, saying that a woman who reported being raped had admitted lying. Thus prompted, Patty writes two letters that she has delivered to Woodmansee’s supervisor, Lieutenant Dennis George Riley, complaining that she was compelled to recant. Riley gives these letters to Woodmansee. october 24, 1997 Woodmansee forwards his case file to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office, recommending that Patty be prosecuted for obstructing an officer. january 15, 1998 A criminal complaint against Patty is signed by Jill Karofsky , a Dane County deputy district attorney. january and early february 1998 Patty, unaware of these impending charges, is interviewed by Isthmus newspaper after an acquaintance convinces her to go public with her story. Isthmus begins to investigate. Riley tells the paper he has no recollection of Patty’s letters. february 9, 1998 Patty is formally charged with obstruction, a misdemeanor. aril 1, 1998 Isthmus, through News Editor Bill Lueders, files a complaint against Riley with the Madison Police and Fire Commission (PFC), alleging that Riley violated department policy in failing to forward Patty’s letters to others in the department for investigation, as well as its rules regarding truthfulness. may 1998 The PFC delays action, pending resolution of the criminal case against Patty. june 29, 1998 The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory reports finding semen on Patty’s bedsheet, after her defense attorney, former District Attorney Hal Harlowe, asks why this evidence was never analyzed. Police subsequently obtain DNA samples from the man Patty identified as a chief suspect, as well as her current and former boyfriends. july 9, 1998 Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jack Aulik holds a hearing on Harlowe’s motion to suppress Patty’s confession. Within a week, Aulik issues a ruling denying this motion. july 29, 1998 DNA tests conclusively exclude the three individuals from whom samples were obtained. august 21, 1998 The charges against Patty are dismissed. The district attorney’s office admits it can’t prove its case “beyond a reasonable doubt” but continues to suggest that Patty was lying about being raped. setember 30, 1998 The PFC dismisses the major part of Isthmus’s complaint against Riley, which alleged that he violated department rules regarding complaint acceptance and investigation. october 15 and 22, 1998 A PFC hearing is held on the remaining part of Isthmus’s complaint against Riley, alleging untruthfulness. november 2, 1998 Patty formally asks the Madison Police Department to have the state Division of Criminal Investigation reopen her rape complaint . She also asks that it investigate the conduct of Madison police but is told that this will not be done. december 3, 1998 The PFC rules against Isthmus. december 14, 1998 Patty files her own PFC complaints against Riley and Woodmansee, alleging violations of department rules. The complaint against Riley is dismissed due to his retirement. march 5, 1999 Special agent Elizabeth Feagles of the state Division of Criminal Investigation finally contacts Patty with regard to her sexual assault case. Over the next year, Feagles pursues numerous leads and obtains DNA samples from several suspects; none match. may 18, 1999 The PFC dismisses Patty’s complaint. november 17, 1999 Attorney Mike Short, representing Patty, files a 272 Chronology • lawsuit in federal court against three Madison detectives: Woodmansee, Draeger, and Lauri Schwartz, who did follow-up work on the case. march‒ may 2000 Extensive depositions and other discovery are conducted in the civil case, by both sides. Patty is...