Law: Cathy and Gary in Medialand

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There have been no public or judicial pressures to try Webb for perjury. A more serious consequence of her recantation is that it may intensify what one Massachusetts prosecutor calls "the continuing public perception that the victim of rape somehow brought it on herself." According to a 1985 Justice Department study, 1.5 million rapes or attempted rapes are estimated to have occurred in the decade that ended in 1982. Experts say half of such crimes go unreported. One of the principal reasons is victims' frustration with the criminal-justice system.

To help combat this problem, a majority of states, including Illinois, have passed laws that prevent defense lawyers from discrediting alleged rape victims' testimony by such tactics as exploring their sex lives in court. Some attorneys say that the names Webb and Dotson can now be expected to make their way into the summary arguments of defense counsel in rape cases. Gloria Allred, a Los Angeles attorney and feminist, hopes the case "does not demoralize rape victims who feel they may not be believed."

One of the most disturbing aspects of the Dotson case is that, as time passes, it becomes increasingly difficult to know what to believe. Illinois officials are continuing their investigation of the Dotson case. Last week Lance Claxton, a former cellmate of Dotson's, said that Dotson told him that he had met Webb at a party on the night of the alleged rape and that she may have had sex in a bedroom with three other men. Though Claxton subsequently failed a lie detector test, his story adds a new note of uncertainty to an already bizarre case.