Man Says Police Ignored His Rape Claims
PALM SPRINGS – As set-up of the white party continues, fliers are being posted around Palm Springs claiming there is a serial rapist on the loose. The police says this is false and that there is nothing to worry about. But one man speaks out to News Channel 3 saying he was the target of a rapist who used date rape drugs.
The White Party brings in around 25,000 gay men and their much-needed tourism dollars to Palm Springs. One flier is making the rounds in some neighborhoods. It warns of a rapist targeting gay men by slipping date rape drugs in their drinks. Kevin Bond says he is one of those rape victims.
“I was asleep at one of my friend’s house and I woke up in the morning and I was bleeding and my head left that it had been bashed in. I really didn’t know what had happened to me.
I was wearing a pair of jeans. I put them on that morning and just felt blood. Knew it was blood. There was blood all over the crotch area of the jeans. An inordinate amount of blood. Something I had never seen before. It scared me a lot,” said Bond.
Bond went to the Desert AIDS Project. He said he tested positive for Hepatitis C after the rape. But Bond claims Palm Springs Police never took him seriously. He accused them of not caring about crimes between gays.
Palm Springs Police denies any rape investigation is going on. They say the fliers Bond and others are posting are false. Sergeant Mitch Spike even goes so far as saying he believes Kevin Bond has “mental issues.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union wrote a letter on behalf of Kevin Bond. It says “the police department response is inconsistent with the city’s welcoming attitudes” towards gays and lesbians.
Bond added, “I figured if I wasn’t going to get the support from the Police Department, going out and looking for these people actively, I would do it myself. I learned a lot of things online about how to be an advocate for your own rape case. The only way you can do that is to put the word out on the street this is happening.”
Stores and bars along Arenas Road have not heard much about these rumors. But knowing that word is spreading around the community, they’ll be even more careful.
“I’m frustrated. I’m angry. I think if people saw what I went though and saw the crime scene and knew what I went through knowing I now have a disease that could kill me because of this, it’s very frustrating to know what I’ve been put through. And it’s frustrating that there are people out there who could be helped if we got the word out,” said Bond.
Again, Palm Springs Police says there is no serial rapist in Palm Springs targeting gay men. They want to put an end to this spreading rumor.
But there are a few men who tell News Channel 3 they believe Palm Springs Police is not protecting the gay community. We will continue to monitor this situation and bring you any developments as they happen.
