Victim/Suspect   4 stars

In the documentary Victim/Suspect we are introduced to Rae de Leon, an investigative reporter working for The Center for Investigative Reporting.  She was looking into some cases involving young women who have reported being sexually assaulted only to find that the police then charge them with filing a false police report,  a crime which carries a long jail term.  She starts with a case of a student at the University of Alabama which leads her to many others in all parts of the country.  The documentary shows how through interviews and hundreds of hours of legwork she and her team learn how the police fail to investigate the allegations of rape and then use interrogation tactics including lying about evidence to convince the victim to recant their story.  The recanting is then used to file charges against the women who are often then convinced to accept a plea. The victims are often women in their twenties who have no idea what is coming for them.  This is all done just to make life easier on the police without regard for the lives damaged.  The film by director Nancy Schwartzman tells a compelling story that will outrage the audience.  The film does have a positive outcome with the subject women of the film being exonerated of their charges. de Leon, the director and two of the victims and a lawyer helping them were present for the Q&A. They are planning to spread their message of these police practices with the result being to educate police departments and the public on this important issue.