Tallahassee police question person who posted video of alleged rape

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A man who posted a video of an alleged rape to social media last week has been questioned by Florida police, who are continuing to investigate whether the video is legitimate, a spokesman said Monday.

Authorities questioned the person Friday, said Tallahassee Police Department spokesman Dave Northway. He did not reveal any details about what the man said or whether it had led to any new leads.

The man had uploaded the video to the social media site Yeti late Thursday. Northway said that police were called to an apartment complex near Florida A&M University that same night after someone viewed the video and believed a rape had occurred there. Patrol officers could not locate the victim or a crime scene matching the room in the video, Northway said.

The video first appeared on Yeti: Campus Stories. Yeti is fully cooperating with the police department and has provided all information associated with the video, Northway said.

The video appears to have been made in an unfurnished room with only a television. The male, who was wearing a black T-shirt, boxer briefs, jeans and a cap, was facing away from the camera and appeared to be sexually assaulting an incapacitated female.

At first, only Florida A&M students were able to view the video. But after a story was posted on Jezebel.com Friday and comments were posted on other social media sites, the video began to trend and could be viewed by everyone who had access to the Yeti app.

University officials have not been able to verify that the video is connected to FAMU or its students, Florida A&M Director of Public Safety Terence Calloway said Monday. He said they have been working on the case since Friday.

“We have exhausted all resources in trying to identify the individuals in the video and confirm the authenticity of the incident,” Calloway said.