The decision of the NYC District Attorney not to prosecute Dominique Strauss-Kahn must not distract us from the critical work of preventing sexual violence in the first place and of ensuring that all victims of rape and other acts of sexual violence receive the support they deserve, including access to skilled advocates who help ensure that victims are treated fairly by police, attorneys, and courts.

We respect that prosecutors make judgment calls each and every day whether to pursue a case. But let’s be clear: FBI statistics and several independent studies have consistently shown that fabricated sexual abuse reports constitute only 1 to 4 percent of all reported cases. This figure is the same estimate of false allegations for other crimes.

So when Lisa Wayne, President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, claims that “More [of her] clients [are] wrongfully accused of sexual assault than any other crime,” the question is: who is her client base?

The DA’s decision does not prove that Strauss-Kahn was innocent or that Diallo was lying. Let’s not forget that other women in France have already come forward with claims of sexual assault by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Let’s not forget that most rapes/sexual assaults go unreported.

And let’s not forget that the reality for most housekeeping staff doesn’t match the Hollywood version as portrayed by Jennifer Lopez’s character in “Maid in Mattahan.” Mostly women, low-paid and immigrants, housekeeping staff face real obstacles in seeking justice for crimes including sexual harassment and rape.

In the end, the best answer is prevention. We hope that this case encourages an open dialogue about the role that each and every person can play to help make our communities safer. This dialogue can begin with talking to our children, friends, and co-workers about the risk of sexual violence and expand to conversations about how inequality and privilege perpetuate violence. It continues with employers conducting workplace safety assessments and implementing policies and procedures to reduce safety risks.

While this particular case has been dismissed, the need for community education and action is as important as ever.

A Lowell police officer was charged with raping prostitutes and soliciting prostitution while on duty.

Officer Aravanh Lakmany was indicted on Thursday, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

Lakmany allegedly solicited several prostitutes beginning in 2009 during his night shifts for the Lowell Police Department. Prosecuters say he asked the women to get into his cruiser or personal car and drove them to a secluded area to engage in sexual acts.

The officer told one prostitute he would not arrest her if she had sex with him, according to prosecutors.

According to the Associated Press, a woman answered Lakmany’s home phone and said “no comment,” and hung up.

A 17-year-old boy from Springfield was arrested early Morning morning and charged with raping an eight year old.

Anthony Martinez, 17, of Dorset Street in Springfield was arrested at his home at 6:15 a.m. by members of the Springfield Police Department Warrant Apprehension Unit, said Sergeant John Delaney, a department spokesman.

The case was investigated by Springfield’s Special Victims Unit centering around an incident on April 9.

No details were released about the assault, and Blast Magazine does not identify victims of sexual assault.

Martinez will be in Springfield District Court today for arraignment.

A woman fought off a convicted rapist who attacked her in a parking lot in Wareham on Friday night, police said.

Wareham Police received several 911 calls around 10:15 p.m., with callers saying that there was a woman screaming for help in the Cranberry Highway Walmart parking lot.

Police found the 36-year-old victim, whose name has not been released "visibly shaken and crying" when they arrived. She told police she had just gotten into her car after shopping at the store when a man told her she left some bags on the roof of her car.

She got out of the car, and the man grabbed her and pushed her against a van parked next to her. She started screaming as loud as she could. The man put his hand on her mouth and told her to "shut up," but the victim bit his hand and kept screaming as he tried to drag her to his car, police said in a statement.

The victim bit the man again and broke away, running toward the Walmart, screaming for help. The victim, and several witnesses, gave police a good description of the suspect, as well as a partial license plate from his car as he drove away.

Police also viewed surveillance camera footage from the store.

Police dispatchers searched the Registry of Motor Vehicles database and found that the car belonged to Lance Porter, 36, a registered level 3 sex offender.

Officers went to Porter’s house and "after a brief investigation," Porter was arrested and charged with kidnapping, assault and battery, and attempted rape, police said. He will be arraigned tomorrow in Wareham District Court.

Porter is on parole after spending 12 years in state prison for kidnapping and raping a child in May 1996.

An Austrian court judge sentenced Josef Fritzl to life in prison Thursday, for allowing the child he fathered with his enslaved daughter to die without receiving any medical attention or aid, the New York Times reports.

Fritzl will spend his life sentence in a secured psychiatric hospital. The verdict effectively brings a fitting end to the compelling and sickening tale of‚ a father who drugged, imprisoned, raped (more than 3,000 times) and fathered seven children with his own daughter over the course of 24 years.

Fritzl told the jury‚ ”I regret from the bottom of my heart what I did to my family.” He also told them he wished there was a way he could “make amends” for his behavior. I don’t think anyone really cares to help him clear his guilty conscience now.

Fritzl was found guilty on all charges including rape, incest, enslavement, imprisonment, negligent homicide and slavery. Fritzl’s lawyer said he will not appeal the decison and called it “the logical consequence of his guilty plea,” according to the Times. Just two days earlier, Fritzl refused to plead guilty for the murder of one of his newborn sons, the cornerstone of the case against him. The baby, one of twins, developed breathing problems just 66 hours after birth. Fritzl refused to seek medical help and as a result, the child passed away.

Three of the seven children Fritzl fathered with his daughter were raised in the house by him and his wife. Fritzl led his wife to believe his daughter had run away from home at a young age and had abandoned the young children at home for them to care for. Elisabeth Fritzl was, all the while, living in a windowless cellar in the basement of the very same house.

Fritzl’s plot was discovered after Elisabeth’s eldest daughter, Kerstin, fell gravely ill. Fritzl agreed to seek medical attention and took her to a hospital, an event which provided the first tug on the web of incestuous and horrible behaviour that Fritzl had been weaving for nearly a quarter of a century.

Due to his age, it is unlikely Fritzl will ever be released. However, in 15 years, if he is still living, a panel of judges will decide if he is fit to re-enter normal society. I seriously doubt that is going to happen.

Carly Milne was plagued by nightmares stemming from the night she was raped.
Then she wrote a book about it.

Not just about the experience of surviving sexual assault; that’s really just skimming the surface. Milne has also penned an unflinching portrait of molestation by her father, an honest look at dealing with herpes, homelessness and alcoholism all before turning 18, and the comedy that ensued from working as a sex toy tester.

In her first book, "Sexography: One woman’s journey from ignorance to bliss," Milne has recorded both the hilarious and harrowing visions of her sexual self, with a frank tone and unpitying wit. No excuses.

"I didn’t really go into it going, ‘Oh boy, I wonder what everybody’s going to think,’" Mline said. Though by the end, a surprising turn of events with her dad admittedly gave her pause. "There was a small part of me towards the end (wondering), ‘Well, are people going to think I’m a fraud because I reconciled with my father?’" she said. "I have my reasons for choosing that path."

Working to salvage that relationship meant explaining some parts of her book that was about to hit the shelves.

"I wanted to make it clear to him: I didn’t write anything to hurt him," she said. "I didn’t write anything to hurt anybody."

Several characters in Sexography are faithfully depicted down to using the real names, she said. But for anyone she’d fallen out of contact with, Milne opted for pseudonyms. "Unless they jumped up and down and said, ‘Hey, that’s me!’ no one would know," she said.

Besides, the journey was hers to tell. Writing the book was draining and cathartic, as Milne dove into memories starting with the childhood comfort in her own naked form, and the long years spent trying to reclaim that feeling.

"I didn’t really entirely know what was going to come out of me until I sat down to write this," Milne said. "I spoke to my therapist a lot when I was writing."

Recording the scene of the first time Milne was raped, after taking a ride home with a stranger during her early teen years, was easily the hardest part of penning Sexography. "I had never written so vividly about that experience, ever," she said, fighting back tears. "Not in journals not in articles. I mean, I’d reference it…but I never really detailed in quite that way."

But she credits that intricate record for helping to put some demons to rest, and ending more than a decade of nightmares brought on by that night. "It was almost like I had to get everything out of me and onto paper in order to be able to release it," she said.

The scene is a disturbing portrait of the assault, made all the more horrifying by Milne’s internal dialogue. It’s hard to remain distant from the rape while reading the victim’s thoughts. And that’s just as it should be.

"I think the only thing that was a comfort to me was, you know, I made it through once, so I can make it through," she said. "You know, I felt so alone when I went through this, maybe telling people what I went through will make them feel less alone. Having that drive was what made it easier to work through, which I realize sounds utterly clich©."

Although it may leave readers with a taste of the nauseated feeling of being violated, or at the very least squirming in their seats, the rawness of even the most painful memories is what makes the book work, from those heavy moments, to the lighter side.

Early explorations, including discovering the difference between boys and Ken dolls and practice make-out sessions with Milne acting as a stand-in for Rick Schroder, are written in a playful tone. And a scene where Milne tries to Create A Mate, casting her then-husband’s penis in "buddy batter" goop for a personalized dildo, is laugh-out-loud funny.

"That was a lot of fun," Milne said. "I loved writing about some of my mishaps that happened with testing out sex toys. Or when my friend and I happened upon my step-mom’s vibrator. People often overlook those kinds of experiences as not necessarily what ends up being a part of what helps them shape their sexuality. Oftentime, it’s those little moments that really make the big difference."

Next up is a study of the spiritual kind. "In a way, it’s kind of the sequel to Sexography," Milne said, a look at the spirituality that helped her to transcend "all that other junk."

Sexography: One woman’s journey from ignorance to bliss by Carly Milne, is available for $24.95, by Phoenix Books.