Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Monday that his office never considered investigating the assault claim made against Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons after police dropped the matter.
Roger said the case "wouldn't fly" because the alleged victim decided not to pursue it.
His decision drew the ire Monday of Nevada women's rights groups, which also criticized Sheriff Bill Young for not pursuing the case. By backing away, Roger and Young have demonstrated how the justice system often fails to support women who have been assaulted, the organizations said.
Chrissy Mazzeo, the alleged victim, made several 911 calls late on Oct. 13, claiming that Gibbons had pushed her against a wall in a parking garage and threatened her with sexual assault after having drinks at McCormick & Schmick's restaurant near the corner of Flamingo and Paradise roads.
Mazzeo, a 32-year-old single mother, and Gibbons, 61, had been socializing that night with Gibbons political adviser Sig Rogich and three other women.
After responding to Mazzeo's calls from Hughes Center, police interviewed her and investigated the case until they spoke with her a second time the next afternoon. During that short conversation, she asked them not to pursue the matter because Gibbons is a powerful, high-profile figure. She did not recant her allegations, however, and has since hired an attorney.
Young told the Sun last week that he told Rogich the case was going "nowhere from here on out, it's going to be the congressman's word against her word."
Young said further that he still supported Gibbons for governor, and he questioned whether Mazzeo had political motives for making her claims.
Roger said the Mazzeo allegations never made their way to his office because of her decision not to pursue the matter. "We're not normally contacted by police during investigations of this sort," he said.
Roger said that police handled the case "in a pretty thorough manner." But if the alleged victim is not willing to cooperate with police, he said his office rarely pursues the matter on its own, with one exception being domestic violence cases.
Roger's office employs 27 investigators, and he said he could have them dig up evidence on their own - if he felt it was worth it.
"I guess, in a perfect world, we could pick up an investigation like this," Roger said. But he said there had not been any formal discussions in his office regarding whether to investigate the matter.
He said his decision had nothing to do with his connection to Rogich, a friend who has provided him with political advice in the past.
The two have not spoken about Mazzeo's claims, he said, and in fact they haven't spoken at all since May.
Jessica Brown, president of the Nevada chapter of the National Organization for Women, said she would support an investigation into the Mazzeo incident by the district attorney, noting that in other states, similar cases are pursued even without the victim's approval.
"We respect (Mazzeo's) wish for privacy, but the DA also does have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute criminal actions," Brown said.
Young's remarks about Mazzeo belittled her assault complaint, Brown said.
"This woman's fear of not receiving fair treatment is sadly well founded," she said. "Ordinary women who feel they have been assaulted or battered cannot expect multiple officers to respond to their complaint, as occurred Friday night. Far more common is for women who seek help to be ridiculed, not believed or arrested themselves."
Kathleen Brooks, associate director of SafeNest, a Nevada nonprofit group that runs a domestic violence hotline and shelters for abuse victims, agreed. It's not easy for such victims to come forward, she said, and all too easy for them to back off their claims, especially if they don't believe they'll be supported by law enforcers.
Brooks also said she supported a revived probe from Roger's office. "I find it unfortunate that the DA decided not to go forward," she said.
Brooks also criticized Young for his handling of the case. Young's call to Gibbons to alert him to Mazzeo's claims was elitist, Brooks said. "Everybody should be treated fairly, regardless of status," she said. "It's the 'good ol' boy' system showing its face in Nevada one more time."
Lee Rowland, public advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said her organization shares NOW's concerns.
"We are well aware that gender sadly still plays a big part in our criminal justice system," she said.
"We take the sheriff at his word about why he got involved in the case. But his latest statements of strong support for the congressman while questioning Ms. Mazzeo's veracity and motives are nonetheless terribly unfortunate.
"Unfounded suggestions that a possible crime victim has ulterior reasons for coming forward are unfair to her and undermine public confidence that the police have handled the investigation impartially - or are able to do so if further inquiry regarding her complaint is appropriate," Rowland said.
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