Oct 17, 2003  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

A lesbian group called the D.C. Avengers announced plans to hold a demonstration Saturday, Oct. 18, to protest what organizers say has been a lackluster response by D.C. police to the reported gang rape of a lesbian near Logan Circle three weeks ago.

A 22-year-old lesbian reported that six men raped and beat her about 2 a.m. on Sept. 28 after pulling her into an alley next to the Central Union Mission building at 14th and R Streets, NW. The woman said the men shouted anti-gay taunts as they took turns assaulting her.

Sgt. Joe Gentile, a police spokesperson, said the police Sex Offense Unit is investigating the incident, which he described as an “allegation.” Gentile said last week that police would make no additional comments “until we know exactly what happened and we know what’s involved.” On Wednesday of this week, Gentile said he had nothing new to report, saying the matter remained under investigation as an allegation.

About 50 members and supporters of the D.C. Avengers assembled at 14th and R Streets last Friday night, Oct. 10, carrying placards denouncing violence against women and calling on police to alert the neighborhood about the incident.

D.C. Avengers organizer Lori Sullivan said her group was concerned that police may be withholding information about a group of criminals who could be a threat to the safety of the community, especially women living and working in the Logan Circle area.

“The MPD has put out no alert for these six men, released no sketches, and made no public announcement beyond admitting it responded to a report of an attack,” according to a flier released by the group.

The flier says the group will hold another, larger protest at 8:15 p.m. Oct. 18 at the corner of 14th and R Streets, N.W. near where the lesbian said she was first accosted by the men she says raped her.

Sullivan said members of her group talked to the lesbian at length about the incident. She said the woman’s story is highly detailed and convincing, and includes information indicating that police investigators may not have sufficiently investigated the crime scene.

“I personally believe her,” Sullivan said. “We have no reason to believe she had cause to lie.”

The alleged victim told the Blade in a telephone interview last week that she discovered that police left the crime scene unsecured in the days following the incident. She said she found some of her clothing in an alley next to the Central Union Mission building, where she said the rape occurred, several days after the incident, leading her to believe police did not properly search the crime scene.

“We would like the police department to be more forthcoming,” Sullivan said. “They should not just leave the community standing without knowing if they feel there is a danger.”

Residents report Logan ‘crime wave’
The lesbian who reported the rape said the incident began while she was walking home alone from the Black Cat nightclub at 14th and S Streets, NW. She said one of the men who attacked her approached her for a cigarette, then began harassing her by repeatedly asking her why she was not accompanied by a boyfriend. She said one of the men struck her in the head with a blunt object after she shouted that she was not interested in men.

The men pulled her into an alley next to the Central Union Mission building, forced her to lie down on a sheet of cardboard they had placed on the pavement, and ripped off her clothes, according to her account of the incident. She said the men then took turns raping her, with some of them calling her a “dyke” and a “lesbian.”

“They asked me if this was better than having sex with my girlfriend,” she said.

An unidentified woman paints a protest sign before a rally last week. A lesbian group is calling on D.C. police to do more to keep the Logan Circle community better informed. (Photo by Michael Wise)

The woman said she lost consciousness sometime during the attack, waking up nearly three hours after she had left the Black Cat. She said she staggered home, and her girlfriend, who also spoke with the Blade, called an ambulance. She was taken to Howard University Hospital, where she said an attending physician examined her and confirmed she had been raped. The woman said a counselor with the D.C. Rape Crisis Center assisted her during the medical exam. She was ...