Thursday, September 16, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Rape suspect's family sues
Authorities `have jumped the gun,' says brother of jailed man
By GLENN PUIT
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Dushon Green
Faces counts of sexual assault
|
The family of a man suspected of raping five women between late 1996 and early 1998 has filed a lawsuit alleging mistreatment by the Las Vegas Valley criminal justice system.
Dushon Green, his brother said, unjustly has been put in isolation at the Clark County Detention Center while awaiting trial on multiple counts of sexual assault.
The family said police unfairly have labeled him a serial rapist in the news media before the evidence against Green has been presented fully in court.
"The police have jumped the gun," said Green's brother, Michael of Houston. "They've gone out and arrested a man and then immediately, within hours of the arrest, they went to the media and created the impression not that he is suspected, but that he is, in fact, the man that they were looking for."
Michael Green said his brother alleges Las Vegas police have engaged in a pattern of harassment against him.
Michael Green said his brother alleges the harassment coincided with his separation from his wife, who is the stepdaughter of Clark County Juvenile Court Hearing Master Sylvia Beller.
Beller, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, made news earlier this month when she was suspended from her job for forcing a teen to disrobe in court.
The Green family lawsuit alleges violations of Dushon Green's civil rights, slander and defamation of character, Michael Green said.
Authorities contend the evidence against Green is sound.
They have said a DNA sample provided by Green matches DNA left at crime scenes of the infamous Flamingo Road rapist, who assaulted five women in the mid- to late 1990s.
Inmates who receive extensive publicity while in the detention center can be placed in protective custody.
Dushon Green's attorney, Amy Coffee of the Clark County public defender's office, declined comment on the lawsuit.
Prosecutors also declined comment.
