Miami

Gloria Allred: Alleged Broward Rape Victims Face Invasions of Privacy

Women's rights attorney Gloria Allred says victims who report that they've been drugged and raped in Broward County are facing unnecessary invasions of their privacy by the state attorney's office.

Allred held a press conference in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday along with the woman who accused former football star Michael Irvin of sexual assault at a Fort Lauderdale hotel in March. The state attorney's office announced last week that Irvin would not be charged in the incident.

Allred claimed the office unnecessarily revealed private information about the alleged victim, Erica Berg, when it explained why it would not file the charges.

"Unfortunately, I believe that this close-out memo regarding Ms. Berg's allegations concerning Mr. Irvin was irresponsible and appeared to reflect an attempt to protect the self-interest of the Broward State Attorney's Office at the expense of all potential victims who allege drugging and rape in the future," Allred said.

The state attorney's office said that a variety of factors - including the results of DNA testing along with inconsistencies in statements and a lack of evidence to corroborate the victim's account - amounted to an unlikely chance for conviction.

Allred claims the state attorney's office's policy for when alleged victims report that they've been raped is likely to prevent some rape victims from reporting crimes to law enforcement and prosecutors in the future. She also believes the policy discriminates against women.

According to Allred, the memo included private medical information and the details of Berg's toxicology screen. Allred said in her 41 years as an attorney she's never seen such a detailed close-out memo released from a state attorney's office.

The state attorney's office and Irvin's lawyer both said they will wait until after the news conference to comment.

Irvin, who starred at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale before a star-studded career with the Miami Hurricanes and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, denied the allegations and said the incident has cost him millions of dollars.

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