Did Nigel “Teddy” Veal Rape a High School Student?

Nigel “Teddy” Veal, collegiate wide receiver, will soon be appearing in court to defend himself against charges of the rape of a high school student.

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/8983268-171/attorney-for-tulane-athlete-denies

His attorney, Donald “Chick” Foret, made a public statement:

“We have every confidence that they will get to exactly what happened, the truth of the matter.”

Please note, this statement is not a denial his client raped the high school student. There is “truth”, something happened, it may or may not be rape, but we can’t tell from this statement.

“I’m not going to really talk about the facts, but I’ll tell you this: There was not a rape that happened that night.”

The most important phrase in the above statement is “I’m not going to really talk about the facts”. This means the rest of the statement is not “facts”. The rest of the statement is fiction. The speaker blatantly tells us all of his statements are fiction, they are not “the facts”.

“There was not a rape that happened that night” – because the previous phrase told us all other statements are untrue, this statement is false. The opposite is true. There was a rape that happened that night.

“This young man was an honors student at West Jefferson High School. He lived in an honors dorm at Tulane. He’s majoring in engineering. He’s a fine young man.”

Please note, the above statement does not deny the allegations of rape. It is a description of the defendant, but not necessarily a true description because “I’m not going to really talk about the facts”.

“His statement will always be the same and we’re looking forward to working with the DA’s Office to try to get this case refused and move on with his life.”

Again, no denial of guilt. The defendant’s statement “will always be the same”. This is true. The defendant gave a statement and it is recorded and will always be the same, even when they present it in court. Did the statement deny guilt? We don’t know.

“We’re looking forward to working with the DA’s Office to try to get this case refused” – True statement. The defense attorney is looking forward to getting the case refused. This doesn’t mean the case will be refused, just that the defense attorney really hopes it will be. The defense attorney does not look forward to the charges being preferred and going to court to defend his client. Also note, the defense attorney does not look forward to proving his client’s innocence.

What did we learn? If you hire a defense attorney who makes inane statements like this to the press on your behalf, get a new attorney.