911 Dispatcher Tells Rape Victim to 'Quit Crying'
A frightened 20-year-old rape victim received zero sympathy from 911 dispatcher.
June 12, 2014— -- Emergency dispatchers have a tough job answering life-altering calls to the most traumatizing events. They provide life-saving instructions to victims over the phone, and calm their nerves. However, one dispatcher in Columbus, Ohio, has “zero sympathy,” claimed one alleged rape victim.
The victim called 911 just after 4 a.m. last Sunday, according to ABC affiliate WSYX. She was staying with a friend at a house just off the Ohio State University campus. The caller said she was woken up by a stranger holding a gun to her head and forcing her to perform sex acts on him.
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The distraught woman told the dispatcher the man broke into the house full of sorority girls and left after assaulting her, stealing cash and an iPhone, according to WSYX. But she said she didn’t know her friend’s address, and asked if the dispatcher could locate where her phone was.
“No. We can’t. That’s why I need to know where you are,” the dispatcher could be heard saying on the call.
The caller described the attacker as a small white male with a white shirt. She asked the police to immediately arrest him.
“Ma’am, you’re going to have to quit crying so I can get the information from you,” the dispatcher told the victim.
When the dispatcher asked the rape victim where the attacker came in, the victim answered: “I have no idea. I have no idea. I have no idea. The back door.”
“Well, they’re not going to be able to find him with the information that you’ve given,” the dispatcher responded.
That’s when the caller broke down.
“Don’t you understand how horrified I am? I am a 20-year-old from Upper Arlington. I don’t know what you deal with every day, but the kind of sympathy you have is zero,” she told the dispatcher.
The police have charged Michael Callaghan, 30, with rape and burglary in relation to the attack on the woman.
A 911 supervisor told WSYX that the dispatcher could have handled the call better and will review the call, but will not reprimand the dispatcher since the victim has been helped and a suspect has been charged.
The Columbus police could not be reached for comment by ABC News.