| No Images? Click here   On Friday, HuffPost published the results of a monthslong investigation into widespread sexual assault allegations against Jesus David Torres, the massively popular scene singer also known as Dahvie Vanity. We asked Jesselyn Cook, one of the reporters who worked on the piece, about what she found.How did this story come about? Sebastian Murdock and I wrote our first story about Torres, which included sexual assault allegations from 12 women, last year. After it published in December, more people reached out to us with additional accounts of abuse. We wanted to understand how it was possible that a man accused of assaulting so many women and girls over more than a decade could escape any kind of legal repercussions, so we decided to do another report. What was the hardest thing about writing, reporting or editing this piece? Interviewing Torres' accusers was definitely the most difficult part of this process. Describing a traumatic experience to a reporter — a stranger — in great detail, and having to answer dozens of specific questions about it, can be extremely taxing. Many of the women we talked to were understandably nervous about sharing their stories with us, so we first conducted off-record interviews, then spoke on-record when they felt they were ready. We deeply admire their courage and commitment to holding Torres accountable. What did you find that most surprised you? While reading a Pinellas County police report from 2007, we were both stunned to learn 22-year-old Torres had admitted that he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl, which is illegal, and police did not arrest him. Torres claimed he didn't know how young the girl was, but ignorance of the victim’s age is not an admissible defense under Florida law. Had police handled that case differently, it's possible that many of the other alleged assaults could have been prevented. What has the reaction been like? The reaction has been really positive, but as expected, there's also been some backlash from Torres' fanbase of teens and kids. Torres is an idol to many of his supporters, and in a testament to his unshakable influence over them, some are now attacking his accusers on social media. As one former fan and alleged victim told us: "I tried to believe for the longest time that [Torres] was innocent. Then it happened to me." Sadly, but not surprisingly, we've also already received messages from more women who accuse Torres of sexual assault. What do you want readers to take away? We hope this is as alarming to readers as it is to us. That a man accused of sexually assaulting more than 20 women and girls is still free, even after admitting to police that he committed a felony sex crime against a 14-year-old, is deeply disturbing and speaks volumes about the way society treats survivors — and shields powerful men from accountability.
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