Occupier arrested in rape, attempted murder of fellow Occupier, also charged in rape of 14 year old girl
Occupier Jackie Barcliff, 44, was arrested Friday, after turning himself in, after being sought in a brutal rape this past week.
The 56-year-old female victim was forced to go with her attacker to a section of the Pier 15 park overlooking the East River, raped and then thrown over a 20 foot high second-story railing. She suffered a broken pelvis and other serious injuries. She was found about 2 a.m. Monday morning. Her pants and underwear had been removed,
Platform from which the woman was thrown to the concrete below
After he turned himself in, Barcliff was also charged with raping a 14 year old girl on August 12 after offering her a place to stay for the night. He now faces two charges of first degree rape and an attempted murder charge.
According to ABC local news, an Occupy press spokesperson says it’s a terrible incident that should be investigated thoroughly and handled fairly.
According to a lengthy police statement, quoted in the Village Voice, Barcliff, who has been a regular fixture at OWS protests, was previously arrested in December 2011 at Zuccotti Park for assault, resisting arrest and trying to escape. He got sentenced to 200 days in jail, a district attorney spokesperson said. Barcliff was held on Rikers Island four times over the past two years, including 120 days on the resisting arrest conviction starting on Feb. 24. He was released on June 25.
In the following video, taken in November 2011, you can see Barcliff around 2:30 engaging and goading police, ultimately getting arrested at around10:30. Occupiers shout “Shame, Shame” at police for arresting him. One protester yells, “This isn’t Hitler, this isn’t Germany.” Then, people start yelling, “The whole world is watching.”
Occupy: another sexual assault
In all the hullabaloo over May Day, we cannot leave out this story.
Excerpted from the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
A 28-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged with third-degree sexual assault of a woman, who was participating in the Occupy protest movement on Peavey Plaza during Friday’s early hours.
Seth Matthew Mitchell, 28, is accused of assaulting the woman while she was lying on the plaza in a sleeping bag.
She said she was asleep when the man, who was a stranger, woke her up and sexually assaulted her. Police were called and the man was pointed out to them by the woman as he was walking away, according to a court document.
Sgt. Steve McCarty, a police spokesman, said it was not clear whether the suspect was part of the Occupy movement.
The Occupy demonstrations, which have focused on income inequality and home foreclosures, were centered on Hennepin Government Center plaza last fall.
But they shifted to Peavey Plaza this spring. Police prohibited protesters from sleeping on the plaza last month.
Citizen Journalist 