For the past week, we have been following closely the case where Falling in Reverse’s singer, Ronnie Radke, has been accused of gang rape by a Salt Lake City woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted after a Falling in Reverse performance on June 3rd. After Radke denied the allegations, he filed a defamation lawsuit against the victim and provided his version of the events, contradicting what was initially said by the accuser on a previous statement she provided to the NY Daily News.
Since then, Radke has been in contact with Alt Press to express his account of the story and, to level the playing field, the AP reached out to the victim, Kacee Boswell to clarify the discrepancies surrounding the incident. The interview is extensive and goes in depth about the inconsistencies between the statements previously given by both parties, starting with the “gang rape” part:
AP: I read something alleging Ronnie’s bodyguard assaulted you during the show.
Boswell: I didn’t say that.AP: Were you misquoted? I thought I saw that somewhere.
Boswell: I didn’t say that. I don’t want to get into explicit detail about what happened with Ronnie and I. My lawyers have told me not to. I’ve been completely barraged by text messages and phone calls saying I should kill myself, saying that I’m too ugly to be raped. I’ve been accused of extorting him for money and all sorts of things. My statement to those people is: “Wait until the rape kit comes back” and the police report gets sorted out with the witness. The witness did say that he was going to talk to the police and tell the truth, which completely contradicts Ronnie’s statementAP: The NY Daily News wrote, “A 25-year-old woman is claiming Falling In Reverse singer Ronnie Radke and several others forced themselves on her sexually.”
Boswell: I never said “several others.”AP: “Gang rape” is definitely in the first sentence. Where did they get that?
Boswell: Where I think they took that from is those other news sources, like Metal Sucks and whatever, saying that I accused them of gang rape. I never accused anyone of gang rape. With all due respect, I’m not willing to go through a play-by-play of the night. But I never said that anybody gang-raped me.
When asked about the alibi Slaves’ guitarist Alex Lyman claiming he was with Radke the entire day of the show, Boswell said:
Which is interesting if he’s saying he was with him the whole night, because then he would have been with him in the car when they left me on the side of the road.
The interview brings light some of the issues social media has brought upon Boswell after the media reports of the incident:
AP: You said you aren’t out for money. Is the goal here, from a legal standpoint, to press criminal charges, if/when there’s sufficient evidence?
Boswell: Well, absolutely, when there’s more evidence. But the goal here is also to go after cyberbullies. There are hundreds of comments and messages that are just terrifying. I’ve gotten phone calls that are terrifying. I would like to go after cyberbullies as much as possible, because, I’m scared. His fanbase is a bunch of really fervent [teenage] boys who’d do anything for their idol. I feel like my life is in danger. Virtual harassment is a huge epidemic in our country and it does sometimes push people to suicide. Not that I have any suicidal thoughts but I’m definitely in a dark place. I haven’t felt this sad in a really long time. Complete strangers are telling me I’m too ugly to be raped. It’s terrible.
You can read the rest of the interview here but what is worth to point out is that, on such a complicated and sensitive case, only those directly involved have a meaningful version and we are only witnesses of the aftermath. At the end, what matters is that the truth prevails and justice is served. We will report more of this story as it develops.
