Police in North Ossetia close a rape investigation after apparently blaming the autistic victim

After several months, officials in North Ossetia have closed a criminal case brought by a woman who says multiple local men raped her 18-year-old autistic daughter while she left her alone to travel to Moscow in 2017. According to the family’s lawyer, the investigators “effectively used the young woman’s developmental disorder against her,” determining that her mental state made her amenable to sleeping voluntarily with several men.

“These are the exact features that make her vulnerable among others and make it easier to commit a crime against her,” the lawyer argues, saying that the family will appeal the investigators’ decision to close the case. The young woman reportedly received threats after police started investigating the rape allegations, and one officer supposedly asked her if she was “trying to get the whole city behind bars.”