Erica Kinsman: Jameis Winston Drugged Me

Erica Kinsman, the young woman who accused Jameis Winston of raping her back in December of 2012, is at it once again.

Kinsman will appear in a documentary due out this March called, “The Hunting Ground.” In it, she appears next to her father and describes the events of that fateful night.

As told to the Washington Post:

"She says [Winston] pretended to be her boyfriend to drive a different guy away who she says was following her around the bar. Winston’s chivalry ended there, however, according to Kinsman, who recalls taking a shot with Winston that she was convinced was tainted."

At this point the shot has now been handed to her by a white friend of Marcus Jordan (her friend at Pot Belly’s), a bartender, possibly by Winston (though she is unsure) and now by Winston as he was pretending to be her boyfriend.

That’s a bold change of course from the narrative that has been put forward by the Kinsman camp from day one– that she had no idea who he was and didn’t meet him until the cab ride.

What’s more interesting is the idea that we are supposed to take this account on its face, even in spite of its ever-changing nature. Later in the Washington Post’s article Kinsman and her father recount their first meeting with Angulo:

This is another fairly bold repurposing of events. Kinsman had no idea who her assailant was on the morning of December 7, 2012 (or Angulo’s ties to FSU, either). It wasn’t until a month later that she informed Angulo that her alleged attacker was Winston.

In fact, the first person to allege that Angulo warned Kinsman about the ramifications of pursuing charges was actually her attorney, Patricia Carroll, and that took place when the two spoke the day after Kinsman contacted Angulo about Winston.

What Kinsman and her father are implying would mean that Angulo knew Winston’s role in this — and was looking to protect him — from the outset. That’s factually inaccurate. Angulo interviewed Kinsman twice in the first 24 hours. Two other officers (Fallis, and Harris from the FSUPD) also interviewed her. She was transported to a hospital, given medical tests and evidence was taken. This was all done in good faith. It wasn’t until 1/10/13 that Winston’s name becomes involved in the case at all.

The issue with all of this is that the national media continues to take this woman’s account on its face when there are legitimate — if uncomfortable — contradictions present in her account of events that should beg further questions.

Three different investigations have looked at this case and all found the same thing: there’s just not enough on the accuser’s side to warrant even charging Winston.

And while some won’t come directly out and say it, Jason Newlin — the state attorney investigator tasked with conducting the investigation for Willie Meggs’ office last year — testified at Winston’s CoC hearing that Kinsman just wasn’t all that credible.

There are holes in her story. Meggs said it, Newlin said it, Harding wrote it.

There are places with hazy recollections, there are elements of the story that have changed dramatically in the past 24 months, there are questions about her motives and most of all, if you actually review the evidence and transcripts, there are questions about whether she’s even an honest person to begin with.

In the upcoming documentary “The Hunting Grounds,” Kinsman will be seated next to her father as she gives her testimonial. It will achieve a certain wholesome aesthetic effect. However, the film most certainly won’t mention the fact that Kinsman’s own father testified last December that even he didn’t know his daughter was dating a black man, Kent State WR Jamal Roberts.

This is a young woman who repeatedly lied about this man’s identity to prevent her family from discovering their relationship. Her own aunt denies the DNA link to Newlin (even after Newlin has confirmed it), and Kinsman refuses to even discuss it with him until Carroll leaves the room.

In multiple other instances, she refuses to name or identify Roberts to other law enforcement (namely the TPD). Ultimately the state of Florida had to subpoena the young man just to take his DNA.

The reason this is relevant is because we’re talking about a young woman who, when questioned, wasn’t even being completely honest with her own family. She’s keeping a relationship with someone a complete secret, and even after being allegedly raped refuses to be completely forthright about it?

We’re not even considering the racial implications here, just the fact that any judge, lawyer or detective who realizes that a young woman refuses to even be honest with her own family might have some larger concerns about her credibility.

The national media? Not so much. It takes a much lower preponderance of evidence to convict someone in the court of public opinion.