Quote Originally Posted by Yachtzee View Post
Unfortunately (or fortunately), police reports are public record for everyone. I've had people lose their jobs over getting charged with a misdemeanor, only to get the case dismissed later. I've also had cases where my clients have been able to build a defense because they had access to police reports that show the alleged victim has a history of bad behavior even though the police chose not to file charges.

On the one hand, it stinks that this guy is dealing with this without charges being filed and he does turn out to be innocent, but then again, would you feel the same way if he were a serial rapist and nobody knew? Imagine if he was implicated in 4 or 5 rapes, but never got charged because the police either didn't do a proper investigation or were protecting him because of his star status. If his name were kept from the public, no one might ever find out unless the victims got together and talked or someone in the police department blew the whistle. When it comes to criminal matters, you have to balance the privacy of the individual with the public's right to know.
I agree with what you're saying in principle, but rape is such an incredibly damning allegation that I think there should be some additional protections. Maybe at least something that prevents his name from being released until the investigation is concluded to prevent this constant stream of "updates" whenever a new fact emerges. I think that's at least some protection for the accused while maintaining transparency.