UPDATE: July 31, 7:30pm PST
The San Diego Harbor Police have issued a new report which states that the female cosplayer was injured by a fall, and not from an assault. The male suspect is still facing the original charges. For the full story, click here. The original report will remain below.
Comic-Con International can be a fantastic experience, but the real world sometimes intrudes upon our geek bubble. We’ve already reported an unfortunate incident during the annual ZombieWalk in which a 64-year-old woman was struck by a car that was attempting to force its way past pedestrians that wouldn’t move. But this is much worse than that.
Throughout the day (via Raw Story), reports emerged that a young female cosplayer was found unconcsious and badly beaten on Sunday, July 27. The victim’s mother posted the following message online: “My daughter [Name Redacted] was found on the side of the road covered in blood with no ID unconscious… [Police] are unsure what happened to her.”
Later in the day, San Diego Harbor Police released a statement that said “Harbor Police arrested a 29-year-old man early Sunday morning, July 27th in a hotel at 333 West Harbor Drive. He was booked into San Diego County Jail at 11:20 am on charges of sexual contact with a minor and contributing to the delinquency of minor. The victim, a juvenile female, was transported to a hospital for evaluation and treatment. The Harbor Police Investigations Unit is handling the incident. This investigation is ongoing.”
Allegedly, the victim was last seen parting ways with her friends on Saturday night over a “disagreement.” Unconfirmed reports from people who claim to be her friends have stated that the young woman is in very serious condition with bleeding on her brain.
Related: Comic-Con 2014: Zombie Walk Hit and Run Video Surfaces
That is completely unacceptable. No one deserves this. No one. Not for any reason.
We don’t know exactly what happened that night. We don’t even know for sure if the suspect was also attending Comic-Con. But we do know how it ended, and the savagery behind this attack is particularly disturbing.
We can’t impose comic book morality on to the real world. But we can look out for each other. Not just as fellow geeks, but as people. Within the confines of the San Diego Convention Center, Comic-Con fans are relatively safe and protected. But even then, there were still reports of female cosplayers being groped against their will at this year’s Comic-Con.
This shit only happens because we’ve let it happen for too long. We, as a community, may not be able to stop every attack or every assault… but we can at least try. We have to have each other’s backs, even outside of Comic-Con.
Because if we don’t protect ourselves and our fellow geeks, then who will?
