It’s been three full business days since Tasha McCray stood before Tampa City Council and accused Council Chairman Frank Reddick of sexually assaulting her more than 40 years ago. McCray, 50, was still in middle school when it happened, and Reddick — a respected and long-running public servant with a fierce devotion to his constituents — is at least a dozen years her senior.
As she stood on the dais, McCray hinted at how the incident negatively affected both her life and the relationships she’s tried to form in the years since. All she asked for was closure. McCray explained that she already tried to handle the matter in private to no avail.
“I feel this is the only way I can get acknowledgement needed to move on with my life,” she told the council. McCray said that she’s found some semblance of sanity after finally telling her mother about the assault, and added that she hopes she is not the only person to have found a shred of peace in the wake of such the experience.
“If I am not, I hope that they can come out so that they can release the burden as I am trying to release myself by being here” she said. “I need to get my life back.”
Out of respect for the council, McCray left some specifics, including Reddick’s name, out of her spoken statement. She explained that a police report — which she shared with the mayor’s office — would provide more insight. The particulars within the 35-page hardcopy are horrid. Technically, the offense Tampa Police investigated was “SEXUAL BATTERY-FORCIBLE RAPE.” In the report, Tampa Police detective Darren Jenne provided every detail of the department’s interview with McCray and the way it continued to investigate after the interview ended.
In a separate interview with Tampa Police Detective Brian Campagnano, Reddick said that his attorney had done an investigation into the victim back in 2017 when he initially received a letter from her. Reddick told Campagnano that the victim has made these kind of allegations against other people in the past and also reported that the victim has a massive criminal history.
“Following up on Reddick's comments I checked various databases and could not locate any other prior reports of sex related offenses made by the victim,” Detective Jenne explained in the report. “Next I reviewed the victim's criminal history. Although there are some misdemeanor convictions in the 1980's and 1990's, I did not locate any history of making false reports.”
So Jenne called McCray again.
“The victim told me she has never in her life reported being the victim of a sex related offense,” Jenne wrote. “The victim reiterated to me she never wanted to even report this offense because of the shame and embarrassment.”
For now, the investigation is inactive. A police spokesperson told CL that the case can be reopened if anyone else steps forward. In the days since, some reporters have sought to verify McCray’s claims. When CL called McCray, she explained that she had hired a lawyer and could not speak on the matter.
Sexual assault allegations in the #MeToo era are complicated matters. The accused almost always appear — and often remain — guilty in the court of public opinion. For many, there is no coming back from an allegation, be it true or not. In the case of Reddick — who has a reputation for standing up to the powers at be on behalf of the people he represents — the accusations are shocking. Video from McCray’s statement on the dais ends with a wide shot of the stunned looks on councilmembers’ faces.
The sad part is that, for now, councilmembers’ reactions have largely stopped there.
CL reached out to Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s office on the day after McCray’s statement to the council. A spokesperson said the mayor was in a meeting and did not have a comment at the moment. A follow-up email sent on Tuesday afternoon has yet to be returned.
Councilman Luis Viera responded to a CL email by calling to say that he, too, also had no comment at the time. Councilman Guido Maniscalco’s office called CL back on Friday and has since explained that Maniscalco was out of his office on the day after McCray delivered her statement.
“[Councilman Maniscalco] is also out of the office today attending meetings.” Carrie Henriquez, a legislative aide to Councilman Guido Maniscalco, wrote to CL on Monday, “as soon as I have a moment to speak with him, I will ask. If he does have a comment I will let you know.”
Councilman Mike Suarez — who spent the Saturday following the allegation on a trolley tour as part of his campaign to become Tampa’s next mayor — has yet to return any emails. Reddick has predictably provided no comment to the television news crews who questioned him outside of city hall. Reddick's attorney, Daniel J. Fernandez, released a statement on Thursday and said that his client has been wrongfully accused.
We live in the era of ultra-woke internet do-gooders. Outrage culture is a real thing. Sexual assault is not a comfortable topic at holiday meals. The world — built upon a very broken status quo that has long protected powerful men and those surrounding them — continues to give the public excuses to reply to sexual assault by simply saying, “It’s complicated.”
No shit.
But attitudes are changing, and now people who’ve been sexually assaulted feel more comfortable about coming forward to share their experiences. The #MeToo movement has demonstrated the empowering effects of speaking up. Coming forward is still beyond terrifying for victims; and yes, men, we know it's recently become so, so spooky in your cozy corner of society, too. The bigger truth is that the system is still a long way from truly holding offenders accountable — but the first, very simple, step is acknowledgement. For victims, recognition is just the beginning. Complete healing is another issue altogether. This #MeToo movement should’ve taught our public officials this, but perhaps it bears repeating.
When we don’t acknowledge victims of sexual assault, we perpetuate the idea that no one is listening. We push victims back into the shadows. At best, we’re saying, “Eh, well, I think I believe you, but…”
And that’s never OK. We should expect more from ourselves, and we should be able to follow the lead of our elected officials when we begin to deal with allegations like the one lobbied against Councilman Chairman Reddick. It starts with real acknowledgement, and it needs to happen now.
This article appears in Dec 6-13, 2018.