Crime & Safety
Woman Narrated Sex Assault Video She Posted On Snapchat: Prosecutors
A Rogers Park woman was charged in connection with last week's attack, which she's accused of recording and putting online.
CHICAGO, IL — A Far North Side woman is accused of narrating the video of a passed out, 23-year-old woman's sexual assault and then posting that footage to the victim's Snapchat account, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Beth Rae Harris, 36, of Rogers Park, was charged with nonconsenual dissemination of sexual images stemming from the assault, which happened last week. She was ordered held on $150,000 bail during her hearing Thursday.
According to Cook County prosecutors, Harris and the victim had been partying and clubbing together one night last week before ending up at Harris' apartment, where the victim lost consciousness after she had had too much to drink, the Sun-Times reports. Prosecutors claim the two women had fought earlier in the evening over a man they both had a romantic interest in, the report added.
After the victim passed out, Harris allegedly allowed an "unidentified man or men" to attack the unconscious woman while Harris captured the sexual assault on video, the report stated. Prosecutors claim the victim appears naked in the footage, and Harris provides commentary — she's allegedly heard telling someone not to wake the younger woman — as the victim's buttocks is fondled by an unknown assailant, the report added. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)
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When the victim came to in the morning, she was naked and in pain, and Harris informed her that a man had sex with her while she was passed out, the report stated. It wasn't until the victim returned home that she found out about the videos, which had been posted online using the victim's phone, the report added.
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Along with the video of the assault, Harris allegedly recorded herself insulting the victim, as well as accusing the victim of slapping her, the report stated. Both videos then were posted on the victim's Snapchat account, where one of the victim's followers later identified Harris from a photo, the report added.
Chicago police continue to investigate the sexual assault. Harris' next court date is set for Sept. 19.
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