People v. Jovanovic
Encyclopedia
People v. Jovanovic, 263 A.D.2d 182, 700 N.Y.S.2d 156 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep't 1999), was a highly publicized criminal case in New York
. In 1996, Oliver Jovanovic (born 1966) was accused of sadomasochistic torture of a woman whom he had met shortly before on the Internet. He was convicted in 1998 and the conviction was overturned on appeal in 1999 because parts of email messages between the two had been improperly excluded as evidence at trial. The woman declined to testify during the retrial in 2001 and the case was dropped.
In the summer of 1996, the woman, later identified as Jamie Rzucek (then a 20-year old student at Barnard College
), made the acquaintance of Jovanovic (then a graduate student in microbiology at Columbia University
) in an internet chat room
. They exchanged several email messages and talked on the telephone. In the messages, Jovanovic mentioned Joel-Peter Witkin
's photographs of corpses, and Rzucek expressed her interest in snuff film
s. On 22 November the two met for a dinner date and then went to Jovanovic's apartment, where they watched a Meet the Feebles
video. Rzucek later alleged that then she was held there against her will for 20 hours, bound and gagged, sodomized and tortured in various ways. Jovanovic maintained that the acts were consensual. The two exchanged further emails after the event, with Rzucek describing her state at one point as "quite bruised mentally and physically, but never been so happy to be alive" and "the taste is so overpoweringly delicious, and at the same time, quite nauseating" (using a phrase from Burroughs
' Naked Lunch
). Shortly thereafter, Rzucek talked to family and friends about the incident, and a few weeks later, filed a complaint with the police. Police determined that the allegations did not merit charges. However, after speaking directly to Rzucek, Linda Fairstein
, then head of the sex-crime division of Manhattan
's District Attorney
's office, decided to press charges.
After a jury trial during which Rzucek testified for six days, Jovanovic was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life for kidnapping, sexual abuse and assault. Shortly before the jury's verdict, Jovanovic had refused a plea bargain
offered by the prosecution.
Jovanovic served 20 months in prison during which a fellow prisoner harmed Jovanovic in his neck area.
On December 20, 1999 Jovanovic was released from prison when the New York appeals court
ruled in a 3-to-1 decision, and in a 40-page majority opinion by Appellate Justice David Saxe, that the state's rape shield law
had been misapplied by the judge in charge of the case, then Acting Justice William Wetzel. It was determined by the appellate court decision that the parts of email messages composed by Jamie Rzucek (under the username: "zutzut5") in which she talks glowingly about her sadomasochistic interests and experiences should not have been excluded from examination. In one such message she describes herself as a "pushy bottom
" (a submissive person who pushes the dominant partner to inflict greater pain) and in another as the slave of her sadomasochistic boyfriend. Had the improperly restricted email exchanges from Jamie Rzucek been entered into evidence she could have been rigorously cross-examined on the contents of her e-mail correspondences.
Jovanovic also found himself receiving motivational support from an unlikely source: members of Jamie's own family, most notably her grandmother, along with an aunt
of Jamie's, who were present along side Jovanovic as he made his first appearance before the news media since his conviction was overturned. The grandmother, Fay Webster, related to the news media how her granddaughter had a notorious history of lying and fabricating: "We know her well, and we know what she said about Oliver was just another of her fabrications. She has made false accusations before, and this is another one of them," Webster claimed. She went on to describe her granddaughter as "a very cold person," saying that Rzucek had "caused a lot of trouble in other people's lives by her lying." "Enough is enough," she added, "I think the Manhattan District Attorney
's Office should drop the case."
In July 2000 it was announced that New York's highest court upheld the overturning of the Jovanovic case and refused to reinstate the conviction. In response, the Manhattan district attorney
's office announced that it would retry Jovanovic. Unaware that the city had made plans for a second trial, Jovanovic, upon learning of the city's intentions, viewed the entire act as "a case of vindictiveness." Jovanovic became even further outraged when he had learned that the same judge who had presided over his initial trial, William Wetzel, would also be presiding over the retrial. "I will never admit to a crime I didn't commit," Jovanovic emphatically declared as he adamantly refused to accept yet another offer of a plea deal
.
All charges were finally dropped against Oliver Jovanovic on November 1, 2001, when his accuser refused to testify during the 2001 retrial. Jovanovic's lawyer
, Paul F. Callan, claimed to have compiled a list of witnesses against Rzucek which included former boyfriends and other individuals who could testify about her involvement in sadomasochistic relationships. "[S]he knew her lie would be exposed," Callan said, and that being subjected to "facing the reality" of the list of witnesses he had compiled would have proven "too much for her."
Relieved that the issue had finally been put to rest, Jovanovic stated that it would be his intention to complete his doctorate
in microbiology
, which he did with honors.
In October 2004, Jovanovic filed a civil suit against New York City, claiming that the false allegations had harmed his reputation and that prosecutors had had knowledge of previous false accusations of sexual abuse by lecture 16 11-1. The suit also named prosecutor Linda Fairstein
, who had become a millionaire from her best-selling crime novel
s. Jovanovic had stirred up controversy earlier by implying that prosecutor Fairstein's handling of the case was motivated by a desire to profit from the so-called "cyberfiend" trial, using his real-life court case as inspiration for a new novel idea. "I think she's profiteering from her position and turned it into a consumer entity," Jovanovic said during a news conference a month after his case was first overturned on appeal. Jovanovic accused Fairstein of being an "opportunist" who was only concerned about making money and a name for herself: "It's actually quite terrifying," he said, "to realize that a prosecutor ... bent on convicting you regardless of guilt or innocence can do so with the support of a judge, that makes rulings in their favor." In a separate interview that same month, Jovanovic claimed that he thought Fairstein was "looking for a high-profile case" like his that she could milk for a story idea, and that his case also benefited from having an "internet" angle attached to it, "which was fairly new at the time."
In August 2006 a Manhattan Federal judge rejected the city's arguments seeking to dismiss the $10 million suit.
In August 2009 Jovanovic added to his court papers the claim that Jamie Rzucek's psychologist "engaged in some sort of sadomasochistic activity ... which explains the physical injuries apparent on [her] body when she went to the cops."
In September 2010 the civil suit was dismissed.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1996, Oliver Jovanovic (born 1966) was accused of sadomasochistic torture of a woman whom he had met shortly before on the Internet. He was convicted in 1998 and the conviction was overturned on appeal in 1999 because parts of email messages between the two had been improperly excluded as evidence at trial. The woman declined to testify during the retrial in 2001 and the case was dropped.
In the summer of 1996, the woman, later identified as Jamie Rzucek (then a 20-year old student at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
), made the acquaintance of Jovanovic (then a graduate student in microbiology at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
) in an internet chat room
Chat room
The term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...
. They exchanged several email messages and talked on the telephone. In the messages, Jovanovic mentioned Joel-Peter Witkin
Joel-Peter Witkin
Joel-Peter Witkin is an American photographer who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work often deals with such themes as death, corpses , and various outsiders such as dwarfs, transsexuals, hermaphrodites, and physically deformed people...
's photographs of corpses, and Rzucek expressed her interest in snuff film
Snuff film
A snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...
s. On 22 November the two met for a dinner date and then went to Jovanovic's apartment, where they watched a Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets assembled together as members of a theatre troupe...
video. Rzucek later alleged that then she was held there against her will for 20 hours, bound and gagged, sodomized and tortured in various ways. Jovanovic maintained that the acts were consensual. The two exchanged further emails after the event, with Rzucek describing her state at one point as "quite bruised mentally and physically, but never been so happy to be alive" and "the taste is so overpoweringly delicious, and at the same time, quite nauseating" (using a phrase from Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
' Naked Lunch
Naked Lunch
Naked Lunch is a novel by William S. Burroughs originally published in 1959. The book is structured as a series of loosely-connected vignettes. Burroughs stated that the chapters are intended to be read in any order...
). Shortly thereafter, Rzucek talked to family and friends about the incident, and a few weeks later, filed a complaint with the police. Police determined that the allegations did not merit charges. However, after speaking directly to Rzucek, Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein is an American feminist author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan...
, then head of the sex-crime division of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office, decided to press charges.
After a jury trial during which Rzucek testified for six days, Jovanovic was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life for kidnapping, sexual abuse and assault. Shortly before the jury's verdict, Jovanovic had refused a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
offered by the prosecution.
Jovanovic served 20 months in prison during which a fellow prisoner harmed Jovanovic in his neck area.
On December 20, 1999 Jovanovic was released from prison when the New York appeals court
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division is the intermediate appellate court in New York State. The Appellate Division is composed of four departments .*The First Department covers the Bronx The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division is the intermediate...
ruled in a 3-to-1 decision, and in a 40-page majority opinion by Appellate Justice David Saxe, that the state's rape shield law
Rape shield law
A rape shield law is a law that limits a defendant's ability to cross-examine rape complainants about their past sexual behaviour. The term also refers to a law that prohibits the publication of the identity of an alleged rape victim.-In Canada:...
had been misapplied by the judge in charge of the case, then Acting Justice William Wetzel. It was determined by the appellate court decision that the parts of email messages composed by Jamie Rzucek (under the username: "zutzut5") in which she talks glowingly about her sadomasochistic interests and experiences should not have been excluded from examination. In one such message she describes herself as a "pushy bottom
Bottom (BDSM)
In BDSM, a bottom or submissive is the partner in a BDSM relationship or a BDSM scene who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or dominant....
" (a submissive person who pushes the dominant partner to inflict greater pain) and in another as the slave of her sadomasochistic boyfriend. Had the improperly restricted email exchanges from Jamie Rzucek been entered into evidence she could have been rigorously cross-examined on the contents of her e-mail correspondences.
Jovanovic also found himself receiving motivational support from an unlikely source: members of Jamie's own family, most notably her grandmother, along with an aunt
Aunt
An aunt is a person who is the sister or sister-in-law of a parent. A man with an equivalent relationship is an uncle, and the reciprocal relationship is that of a nephew or niece....
of Jamie's, who were present along side Jovanovic as he made his first appearance before the news media since his conviction was overturned. The grandmother, Fay Webster, related to the news media how her granddaughter had a notorious history of lying and fabricating: "We know her well, and we know what she said about Oliver was just another of her fabrications. She has made false accusations before, and this is another one of them," Webster claimed. She went on to describe her granddaughter as "a very cold person," saying that Rzucek had "caused a lot of trouble in other people's lives by her lying." "Enough is enough," she added, "I think the Manhattan District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's Office should drop the case."
In July 2000 it was announced that New York's highest court upheld the overturning of the Jovanovic case and refused to reinstate the conviction. In response, the Manhattan district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office announced that it would retry Jovanovic. Unaware that the city had made plans for a second trial, Jovanovic, upon learning of the city's intentions, viewed the entire act as "a case of vindictiveness." Jovanovic became even further outraged when he had learned that the same judge who had presided over his initial trial, William Wetzel, would also be presiding over the retrial. "I will never admit to a crime I didn't commit," Jovanovic emphatically declared as he adamantly refused to accept yet another offer of a plea deal
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
.
All charges were finally dropped against Oliver Jovanovic on November 1, 2001, when his accuser refused to testify during the 2001 retrial. Jovanovic's lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, Paul F. Callan, claimed to have compiled a list of witnesses against Rzucek which included former boyfriends and other individuals who could testify about her involvement in sadomasochistic relationships. "[S]he knew her lie would be exposed," Callan said, and that being subjected to "facing the reality" of the list of witnesses he had compiled would have proven "too much for her."
Relieved that the issue had finally been put to rest, Jovanovic stated that it would be his intention to complete his doctorate
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
, which he did with honors.
In October 2004, Jovanovic filed a civil suit against New York City, claiming that the false allegations had harmed his reputation and that prosecutors had had knowledge of previous false accusations of sexual abuse by lecture 16 11-1. The suit also named prosecutor Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein is an American feminist author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan...
, who had become a millionaire from her best-selling crime novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s. Jovanovic had stirred up controversy earlier by implying that prosecutor Fairstein's handling of the case was motivated by a desire to profit from the so-called "cyberfiend" trial, using his real-life court case as inspiration for a new novel idea. "I think she's profiteering from her position and turned it into a consumer entity," Jovanovic said during a news conference a month after his case was first overturned on appeal. Jovanovic accused Fairstein of being an "opportunist" who was only concerned about making money and a name for herself: "It's actually quite terrifying," he said, "to realize that a prosecutor ... bent on convicting you regardless of guilt or innocence can do so with the support of a judge, that makes rulings in their favor." In a separate interview that same month, Jovanovic claimed that he thought Fairstein was "looking for a high-profile case" like his that she could milk for a story idea, and that his case also benefited from having an "internet" angle attached to it, "which was fairly new at the time."
In August 2006 a Manhattan Federal judge rejected the city's arguments seeking to dismiss the $10 million suit.
In August 2009 Jovanovic added to his court papers the claim that Jamie Rzucek's psychologist "engaged in some sort of sadomasochistic activity ... which explains the physical injuries apparent on [her] body when she went to the cops."
In September 2010 the civil suit was dismissed.