WSU professor accused of raping teenage girl
MOSCOW, Idaho -- A Washington State University professor has been arrested for felony rape of a teenage girl.
Andrew Appleton, 51, was arrested by Moscow police Tuesday after the alleged victim came forward.
An associate professor of politics at Washington State University, Appleton has been a faculty member there since 1994. University spokesman Darin Watkins said Appleton has been removed from his duties and is "no longer on campus."
The woman, who is a relative of Appleton's, told police he intimidated and coerced her into a sexual relationship, starting when she was 16 years old. According to court documents, the relationship lasted from February 2010 through September 2011.
She came forward after she turned 18 and said that she had moved from her home to escape an abusive relative and had moved in with Appleton and his wife. Appleton's wife moved to California with the alleged victim in 2009 for a job and Appleton would visit them often until they moved back to Moscow in 2010.
It was during the period when they were living in California that, the woman claims, Appleton started touching her inappropriately. In February 2010 they started having sexual intercourse. Whenever his wife wasn't around and Appleton and the teen were alone they continued the sexual relationship, according to court documents.
The teen also told two close friends about the situation, but swore them to secrecy out of fear she might not be able to go to college if they did. The alleged victim said Appleton told her she would be put into the foster care system if she were taken from his home, according to the documents.
The sexual relationship continued for so long that the woman told investigators that it had become a "way of life." The documents said he would allow her to date other boys as a cover to their actions, and they continued to keep the relationship secret from everyone, including Appleton's wife.
Eventually the teen decided to tell her aunt about the relationship and she in turn reported it to the police. Appleton and his wife were going through a divorce when the teen graduated from high school earlier this year and moved with her aunt back to California.
During an interview with Moscow Police earlier this week she called Appleton and in that conversation, which was recorded by investigators, Appleton allegedly admitted to the relationship, claimed he had fell in love with the teen, saying his wife hadn't been there for him but she had.
The teen arranged to have Appleton meet her at East City Park in Moscow Tuesday and when he arrived, instead of meeting the teen, Moscow police officers arrested him for investigation of rape.
A British national, Appleton earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham, his masters degree from the London School of Economics and his Ph.D from New York University in 1992.
He is also the co-author, along with a fellow WSU professor, of the French Fifth Republic At Fifty, an analysis of French politics, society and culture.
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KXLY is a news partner of KOMO News.
Andrew Appleton, 51, was arrested by Moscow police Tuesday after the alleged victim came forward.
An associate professor of politics at Washington State University, Appleton has been a faculty member there since 1994. University spokesman Darin Watkins said Appleton has been removed from his duties and is "no longer on campus."
The woman, who is a relative of Appleton's, told police he intimidated and coerced her into a sexual relationship, starting when she was 16 years old. According to court documents, the relationship lasted from February 2010 through September 2011.
She came forward after she turned 18 and said that she had moved from her home to escape an abusive relative and had moved in with Appleton and his wife. Appleton's wife moved to California with the alleged victim in 2009 for a job and Appleton would visit them often until they moved back to Moscow in 2010.
It was during the period when they were living in California that, the woman claims, Appleton started touching her inappropriately. In February 2010 they started having sexual intercourse. Whenever his wife wasn't around and Appleton and the teen were alone they continued the sexual relationship, according to court documents.
The teen also told two close friends about the situation, but swore them to secrecy out of fear she might not be able to go to college if they did. The alleged victim said Appleton told her she would be put into the foster care system if she were taken from his home, according to the documents.
The sexual relationship continued for so long that the woman told investigators that it had become a "way of life." The documents said he would allow her to date other boys as a cover to their actions, and they continued to keep the relationship secret from everyone, including Appleton's wife.
Eventually the teen decided to tell her aunt about the relationship and she in turn reported it to the police. Appleton and his wife were going through a divorce when the teen graduated from high school earlier this year and moved with her aunt back to California.
During an interview with Moscow Police earlier this week she called Appleton and in that conversation, which was recorded by investigators, Appleton allegedly admitted to the relationship, claimed he had fell in love with the teen, saying his wife hadn't been there for him but she had.
The teen arranged to have Appleton meet her at East City Park in Moscow Tuesday and when he arrived, instead of meeting the teen, Moscow police officers arrested him for investigation of rape.
A British national, Appleton earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham, his masters degree from the London School of Economics and his Ph.D from New York University in 1992.
He is also the co-author, along with a fellow WSU professor, of the French Fifth Republic At Fifty, an analysis of French politics, society and culture.
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KXLY is a news partner of KOMO News.
She should of yelled bloody murder the first time he touched her instead of carrying on a relationship with him. Now that she she's destroyed his career and marriage she happily skips down the road certain he will go to prison and lose everything to her in a civil lawsuit.
 @joefuss Joefuss, believe me.  I happen to know her.  She has been through a lot, but this rape case by her only refuge was the worst thing that has ever happened to her.  She is an extremely private person and having the media expose it to everyone she knows is only making the situation worse.  Please don't be hateful towards her
@Larry*X*KÂ @joefuss Look ma, it's a
Neanderthal!
 @joefuss I will be kind and you're trolling, and that you don't actually have this kind of moronic opinion about how rape is the victim's fault and how sad it is that it ruins rapists' lives..
 @Jolly  Oh I see, any one who disagrees with you is a trolling.
 @joefuss No, but you risk coming off like a troll when you prfess an unbelievably absurd viewpoint, like how sad it is that a rape victim is ruining this poor rapist's career just because he coerced a minor into sex acts by threatening her personal safety.
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Are you really saying it is a child's fault that she was so terrified of being put into the foster system that she let a 50 year old man sexually abuse her without speaking up about it?Â
Someone read Lolita and thought it was a good thing. What a creep.
Look, those talking about the girl's age and the mother, just SHUT UP. I have a friend, and a KOMO poster, who had a daughter molested from age 7 to 14. And there was no justice, even with the evidence of an audio recording, which I heard. This week's Stranger I Anonymous dealt with it. I will tell you, the victim, at age 14, was "consenting". Tell me, was she "consenting" at age 7? This mother, she had to be physically restrained from going after the father. She didn't turn a blind eye. If you don't have evidence, and you don't have proof, SHUT UP with this. Sociopaths and predators are really good at this. They hide in plain sight. They are charming. Look at the stats. Child molesters are family men, preachers, priests, pastors, teachers...people you trust. Don't dismiss their victims and their wives as complicit, dupes, or "asking for it". You have NO IDEA. But what's worse, you hurt the victims and their mothers when you act so stupidly.
 @WhatRJDid I will add that people who want to make excuses for the people who have sex with kids scare me too. I wonder if they are hiding something.
What a jerk! Â Wonder what happens when he's deported?
Appleton allegedly told the 16 year old that she would be put into the foster care system if she didn't live in his home, where he was inappropriately touching her and eventually having sex with her. Â He was later recorded by police admitting to the relationship, claiming he was in love with the teenager, and blaming his wife by saying she hadn't been there for him (her moving to CA might be a hint that she didn't want to be there for him). Â And he's not a citizen so will likely be deported or flee to the UK. Â Yuck. Â What a creep in so many ways.
PIG!
Dime novel.
He is related to her, is married, his wife walked in and didn't leave him immediately and didn't notify the police, and he threatened to throw her in foster care if she left his home and continued doing this? Â What a sicko. Â I hope she is receiving counseling now, she is going to need heavy-duty therapy. Â If convicted, I wonder if he'll still be smiling for his sex offender registration photo.
 @Doxie Please let it be known that the wife didn't know anything until everyone else. KXLY and its partner news organizations have been broadcasting and publishing false information that negatively affects the family.  In my opinion, the family should sue KXLY.  KXLY has not responded to any attempts to contact them about spreading false and damaging information that compromises the family and their identities.  They even hung up. Â
 @anonymous So she didn't walk in on them?  Yeah, she needs to take action if they are spreading falsehoods like that.
The a__holes always blame the victim when it comes to rape, except when it's a male that was raped, then it's a crime. So easy to cast judgement based on a short news article without actually knowing anything about the story, morons.
What a bunch of disgusting people post here. Sorry, but if you are coerced into sex acts by an authority figure, who tells you you'll end up in the foster system if you don't comply, you are being raped. Assuming things happened as she said she did, this is absolutely rape, and if you don't imagine so, just imagine that the person going through this was your mother/sister/wife, and see if you really think she wasn't abused. And this isn't a high profile person, the odds that she came forward with false rape charges is pretty absurd; would YOU want to publicly come forward as having been sexually involved with someone 30+ years your senior, who was essentially your step father, just for fun? Because, you know, rape victims NEVER face dismissal or, if people believe them, victim blaming. Yeah, she probably just made this up because she likes it when people on the internet imply that she's a slut, right? And anyone saying we "see a lot of false rape accusations," do you really think the number of false rape accusations even comes close to the number of unreported rapes each year? Please think before you speak, and if you aren't capable of that, keep your toxic, brainless comments to yourself.
Hahaha good one zippy.
When a teenage girl is trapped between abuse at home and someone in authority pushing for sex, she is NOT in a consenting relationship. He is "getting it on" with her, pretending like she is all for it! She is being raped! I suggest you pay attention to the fact that she was 16-18 and he was in his 50's. YUCK! You smart alecks posting here have obviously never had anyone in your family sexually abused, or maybe you just didn't know about it! Please pay attention and protect the young women in your family. She had no one.
Consensual statutory rape. At 16, you are old enough to know what you are doing.Â
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@caphillkid You are so incredibly wrong on this. OMG. Consensual statutory rape maybe if they were boyfriend and girlfriend in high school or something ... but NOT this.Â
@caphillkid Did you know what you were doing when you were 16? How about if you were being abused at home, and you escaped to the so-called protection of other family members and you were victimized again or face foster care? None of us would want to rely on the minimal amount of wisdom we have at 16. Too many of us make terrible decisions in the moment at 16 that affect the rest of our lives.
Doesn't sound like rape to me. Sounds like she was willing to continue the relationship after he started it. Wrong? Yes. Rape? Nope. Sounds like the aunt was indignant on her behalf and made her go to the police.
 @dg54321 Doesn't sound like rape to you? Let me guess, you've never been raped. You got lucky in this life and were not molested as a young child. You never had anyone abuse the authority they had over you and coerce you into a sexual relationship. Doesn't matter what it sounds like to you. The law hears it loud and clear. This is rape. An adult knows that they should not under any circumstances have sex with a child. Those who choose to look for ways to excuse adults who have sex with kids should get some help, because they're messed the eff up.
 @dg54321 You need to learn to watch your own business.  I personally know the victim.  You should try to not make an opinion on this case if you are going to jump to conclusions.  Try to be more empathetic.  Sometimes life situations can be worse than we imagine
 @anonymous Get off your high horse. I'll make any opinion I care to. She was 16. Old enough to make the decision whether or not she wanted to be involved with this guy. Was getting involved in a relationship with her smart? Nope. But it doesn't meet the definition of rape. Sounds like your personal involvement with the "victim" makes you biased and incapable of logical reasoning.
@dg54321. Actually, it DOES meet the definition of rape. Perhaps you should dismount first.
 @dg54321  @anonymous So, dg54321, you're comfortable making the opinion that this professor just messed up a little? You think he just had a lapse in judgement? What do you think his responsibility is?
 @dg54321  @anonymous Actually it DOES meet the definition of rape since the man was in a position of authority over her. She could be 21 and he can still be liable for charges.
 @dg54321  @anonymous 16 is not old enough to buy cigarettes, buy alcohol or even vote, but it's old enough to have sexual relationship? A 16 year old person is not fully developed body wise or mentally, so no they are not old enough to make these decisions. Which is why they can't vote.
I happened to sit on a jury on a case like this. The girl was 16, the guy was 21 and it was completely consensual at the time. 3 of us jurors voted to acquit.
 @Blindman A young girl having possible consensual relations with a guy only 5 years older is one thing, but it's nothing like a 16-year-old girl being forced to have sex with her relative who is 32 years older than she is.
 @Blindman I blame the prosecutor for not weeding you and the other two out before the trial started.
 @Blindman Doesn't sound at all like "a case like this". Remember your jury instructions.
Obviously, rape is a serious crime, but when those kinds of allegations are made, it's important that they be proven in a courtroom with evidence. Given the number of false rape accusations we have seen over the years, I don't feel comfortable having the mugshots and identities of mere suspects released to the media in this way. Judges have the power to embargo this information, at least until the trial begins. But they rarely do.
Absolutely agree with your post. Whether it's accusations of rape, DV, child molestation, etc, these type of charges come with such a social stigma that society often views the accused as guilty until proven innocent, and many times not even then. While we should prosecute those who are reasonably suspected (ie, NOT just an accusation from a jilted ex, etc, but REASONABLE suspicion from an impartial party) to the fullest extent of the law, until they are found guilty, those accused deserve the full protection of privacy and the courts to not ruin their lives any more than being arrested and charged with a heinous crime already has. If they are found innocent when stories like this come out, nobody hears about them being acquitted, people just remember that story about him being charged.....and that stigma lasts forever. It's a horrible thing to have an innocent person have their life ruined by a false charge....and nobody seems to care. Does anybody care about Blackstone's formulation anymore? It's only one of the most basic precepts of not just current but law throughout history, going back to the bible....
um, well it is a good thing that arrest records are public record then, eh?
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"NOT just an accusation from a jilted ex?" Wow. You can't be serious. REALLY?
 @casey42 Sadly, I think he is serious. . He probably longs for the good old days when this type of thing was just covered up. He appears to have something against women in general. His posts indicate that he thinks women make false allegations of rape quite often, and that women are always spiteful harpies who would put their child through an investigation and a trial just to burn the ex. This is not the reality most of us deal with. Bad behavior is not exclusive to one gender or the other.
 @dg54321 Who is an impartial party to the things that go on behind closed doors?
I have to say, I think this is fabricated. It seems to me that the woman was as much a player in this as he was.
I am sure there is a lot more we do not know about at this point.
 @northwestsurfer What bothers me most about your comment is that I kind of think you're not an a55hole based on other posts of yours. I think you've got this one wrong. 16 is not a woman. The 16 yr old in this story was already in a bad situation when she came to live with her Aunt and UNCLE. He told her she'd go into foster care if she didn't stay there. She was vulnerable. He groomed her for molestation. Like I said, you haven't struck me as a jerk in previous posts. I think you're a guy, and not sure your age. It troubles me a bit that you don't appear to empathize with the kid here. Just cuz, when I was 16, I was cute and thought I knew it all. Now I look back and it is a freakin' miracle I lived.
 @northwestsurfer please re-read. He admitted.
 @northwestsurfer No adult should ever have sex with a kid. The guy admitted his involvement with her, so re-read if you think this is fabricated.
 @northwestsurfer "The woman, who is a relative of Appleton's, told police he intimidated and coerced her into a sexual relationship, starting when she was 16 years old." Direct quote -- You all seem to be missing the fact that the alleged victim is a RELATIVE, FAMILY MEMBER ...Â
@AlexisBacharach I didnt miss anything, I saw that. Please dont quote or attempt to paraphrase me if you arent going to be remotely accurate
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 @northwestsurfer  @AlexisBacharach I understand your views and can see where you're coming from, but I can assure you that in this case your worry that there is a lot you don't know is true. I grew up in her house and am her closest relative, and his relative too; he is our blood relative. It fits the criteria for rape, but also for incest. Given where we grew up,and what she moved away from, this would have sadly seemed about normal. I also have been raped by someone in authority, and reported it not so long ago. Maybe it was this that stirred her to come forwards. Who knows? All I can say is that we are all as surprised as you. Unfortunately often it isn't obvious to the victim that they have been raped for a long time afterwards...some perpetrators are very clever and good at what they do. I can only hope that the law can discern the truth from the obvious fabrications that can arise in these stories, and that she can continue to be as strong and worthy of respect as she has been so far. Regardless of your views on the case, please admire her courage, given his biological relationship to her, and her past, in coming forward. Thank you.Â
 @northwestsurfer  @AlexisBacharach NW, man- you are disappointing me today. There is a similarity between the two stories. Sixteen ain't a grown up, no matter what they say in between the eye rolling, dramatic sighs, too frequent use of the word "like" and a raging crush on Beiber or a member of One Direction. Have you never met a 16 year old girl? You find the conversation intellectually stimulating? Are you more than 5 years past 16 yourself?
 @northwestsurfer  @AlexisBacharach Following your own link, and following the exceptions to 16 being the age of consent in that link, it appears this meets the legal definition of rape. However, California law may be what is relevant here. The story, understandably, isn't real clear on details.Â
@anonymous Listen, if you are going to post, quit being a coward and identify yourself with a handle of some kind.
This forum was not designed for me or anyone else to agree with you, its a debate forum, and if you think I am offending you, that is totally your right. I am not here to offend you, but I also am not here to agree with you. I am also not advocating for the offender, or the victim, as I am not aware of all of the facts.
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Think objectively. My first post was that I felt there were more facts to the story than what has been reported; but you are narrow enough to believe and pass a judgement on exactly what you have read, and nothing else. I really do not care if you are offended, I did not say anything offensive, and your "try" was not accurate at all.
Debating with you is like trying to sweep a dirt walkway, there is no point or end. I'm done arguing with you.
 @northwestsurfer Actually, my try was accurate.  This case occurred IN IDAHO.  Please learn from your mistakes and don't post or say anything else offensive to anyone in your lifetime without serious and intelligent cause to do so.  Thanks
@anonymous nice try. you dont know anything about me; I am commenting on this story, not a bunch of other stories or cases that occurred in idaho. Stick to the subject.
 @northwestsurfer I don't know if you, Northwestsurfer, have been paying any attention at all to the case or if you are just one of those guys that goes around trying to make people feel bad, but the alleged rapes occurred mostly in Idaho, where the age of consent is 18.
@AlexisBacharach you know, I was going to measure my comments for the sake of being respectful, but with that stupid comment about Sandusky, I changed my mind.
First, you are ignorant. In washington state, age of consent is 16. Dont believe me? Look it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#Washington
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Second, Jerry Sandusky's victims were much younger than the woman here, who was 16 at the time the consensual sex began. You know you can try to pick apart the age of consent here all you want, but your comparison to sandusky was completely baseless and not even remotely close.
 @northwestsurfer  @AlexisBacharach I don't know where you come from, but here on Planet Earth it's not OK for 51-year-old men to pursue sexual relationships with children in their care. Would you call Jerry Sandusky's adopted son a willing player in that relationship? They shared a residence after all.
 @northwestsurfer Please, stop.  You don't know what kind of damage a comment like this might do to the victim of rape.  I would appreciate it if everyone would stop turning this into a joke.
 @northwestsurfer Please shut up.  You don't realize the kind of damage a comment like this might make to the victim of a rape
@anonymous Dude, you shut up. I am not making a joke about this, and for the record, I hate sex offenders and think they should be dealt with severely. I am simply commenting on the story as it was reported; this was not something that happened a few times, from what It says it went on for years. Are you going to say that the whole time that it was going on, she was coerced and unwillingly involved? They werent just having sex, they were sleeping together, and the wife even turned a blind eye.
I think that these types of people are the ones who create such a stigma in coming forward. The RELATIVE that this teenage girl trusted took advantage of that trust. The RELATIVE.  Yes, I know we all believe we knew it all when we were 16, but, as adults, we HOPEFULLY realize that we really didn't know it all.Â
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I HOPE they through the book at this pervert. I hope he only destroyed the trust of ONE teenager and not any others he's been a position of authority for (IE TEACHING)
 @northwestsurfer   Nowhere in this story does it come close to inferring that the wife turned a blind eye. In fact, it says quite the opposite, "hey continued to keep the relationship secret from everyone, including Appleton's wife."
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I agree with many of the other posters in that being 16 years of age does not automatically make you a responsible person when concerning sexual relationships. Most of these "children" have no idea what "rape" really is, and are so afraid of not only the perpetrator, but also of people finding out, that they hide the crime willingly only to avoid the SHAME and stigma that is attached to it. Only when they feel safe do they come forward.Â
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