This is Andres Roemer’s letter of response to the recent one-sided Time article, alleging abuse by various women. While responsible journalism seeks free inquiry and allows for the right to response, Time has not acknowledged Dr. Roemer’s appeal to do so, neither did other mainstream English-language outlets where this letter was sent. The Washington Outsider, in the spirit of dedication to truth, is proud to provide a platform for well reasoned responses to accusations with a risk of damaging not only an individual’s reputation but his very life. I should note that I had known Dr. Roemer since 2017, have met him many times in person, and am honored to call him a friend. I have also had an opportunity to examine some of the evidence related to the investigation into these abuses, which only furthered my personal position that poorly supported and sensational allegations should not go unscrutinized and unverified. False or fabricated allegations do not benefit victims of real crimes; they ensure impunity for true abusers. The Washington Outsider stands for truth and against disinformation and character assassination campaigns. I hope our readers have the courage and the open minds to examine the evidence independently and to give Dr. Roemer’s response the consideration it deserves, free from influence or pressure.
Guilty by Accusation
July 12, 2015: “Congratulations my dear Andres / Many blessings on the success of this new cycle!” (Sic)
July 12, 2016: “Dear friend, very happy birthday, may you be filled with smiles and beautiful experiences in this new cycle !! Hugs!”
July 12, 2017: “Dear Andrés, very happy birthday! May you continue to inspire others with your achievements, may you fill yourself with more happiness and health every day. “
These are only three of the messages that Mariana Peñalva, whom I had also considered a dear friend for a long time, made public through her Facebook account, to show me her affection on each of my birthdays. She is the same person who, a few days ago, declared that I raped her in 2009.
It is just a sample, an example that I want to rescue within these lines, of how, among the number of allegations in a Twitter account (the majority of them anonymous, just like the outlet itself) and two emitted by the General Attorney’s Office in Mexico City, there is a collection of infamies, misrepresentations and contradictions that have served so that, in the eyes of public opinion, I have become a kind of monster, an unscrupulous sexual predator, a hopeless scum.
Because in this summary trial, the type that does not require evidence but “shares”, “likes” and “comments”, in such expeditious mechanism that determines who deserves collective hatred, I have been found guilty by accusation. I borrow the term from professor Alan Dershowitz, who in his book Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo, sent the following message to his readers:
“The #MeToo movement has generally been a force for good, but like many other good movements, it has been exploited for the personal gain of some bad people. Those who support the #MeToo movement must not allow false accusers to harm real victims by hiding behind their virtuous shield, turning it into a sword that explodes against innocent people. “
Not infrequently in history, the pain of the victims has been used by perverse interests for selfish ends, as personal revenge or as a political springboard; to attract attention, gain fame or simply, to cause harm to someone who is perceived as an enemy. When society as a whole, and the powers of the State in particular, are seduced by the temptation to point out, accuse and condemn without evidence to gain public approval, democratic societies condemn themselves to live in injustice, in obscurity and in the cobwebs of hatred.
For some months now, I have been the subject of an incessant, brutal, ruthless political persecution, which does not admit reply nor allows a real defense.
My mother, wife, my children, my sister, my dearest friends have suffered with me the consequences of this incontestable and furious campaign, which uses infamous and totally false statements to make me look like an enemy of society. Still, if there’s at least ONE genuine voice, someone whom my approach unintentionally made her feel uncomfortable, I offer a sincere apology, and the unwavering commitment of introspection, understanding and growth. I would like to open the door to constructive dialogue and learning.
However, regarding those women exploited by characters who, from their position of power in the media, have turned public opinion against me for many years —with an obsession worthy of psychoanalysis— it is not for me to shed light on their motives nor to try to understand them. After all, hatred will always be hatred, and reason will never be the force that drives it nor the ground that supports it.
In a democratic and plural society, the presumption of innocence should be a treasure that we all protect with zeal. It benefits us all. It makes us stronger in the face of injustice and brings us closer to the truth. These are values that the West has embraced as legitimate aspirations for centuries. Due process is the system that brings us closer to understanding, clarifying and resolving alleged criminal acts. Without it, we have no way of approaching the truth with a modicum of certainty.
Therefore, from my position as a designated person, as a person tried and condemned by public opinion, and from an exile whose purpose is to prevent an injustice from being committed against me, I want to endorse my determination to clarify the facts that are imputed to me, while I demand that my presumption of innocence be respected and that I be guaranteed access to a fair, impartial and legal process. This, needless to say, was impossible at the time of my departure to Israel, as the prosecution had offered my head on a silver platter and the future held immediate preventive detention. That is, prison without trial.
I would also want those who grant me the favor of their attention, who have followed these lines and have reached this point, to reflect on the importance of giving all indicted persons the benefit of the doubt. What is happening to me right now could happen to anyone in the future. Everyone is susceptible to succumbing to the immediacy and superficiality of media and digital cancellation. But the device that has been promoted to destroy my life, and that clearly has strong economic and political support, should serve to, at least, raise the suspicion that, behind some of the claims, there are powerful interests concealed; interests that have nothing to do with justice, truth or empathy towards the alleged victims.
Those who have implemented this device use an effective strategy: they use the term modus operandi, they speak of a “basement”, they repeat the same statements over and over again to reinforce the narrative of the monster.
In our justice system, the prosecuting party is the one who must prove its affirmations. You cannot prove negatives. How can I prove to you that I did not do what I am accused of? Among the few tools that I have found since my exile, this reverse exodus that ironically has pulled me out of a media war into the epicenter of a fatal and painful missile war, the only tool I have is my word. The written letter and the spoken word.
A few days ago I was submitted to a polygraph test, performed by a renowned Israeli company and analyzed by international experts. Although it is an imperfect tool, the polygraph is useful in determining, with a high degree of certainty, whether a person is being honest when answering certain questions.
Attached to this letter are the results of the tests that were carried out on me, in the hope that people of good will, who are still interested in finding the truth and not in reinforcing their own prejudices, will have at hand an element of criteria that allows them to put into perspective the events, the different versions and the many and very confusing data that are interwoven to form this painful and intricate story, whose complexity has been reduced by shadowy interests, and simplified by a community hungry for certainties.
Finally, I want to reiterate what you can read if you stop at the attached file:
I have never raped anyone.
I have never had sex without consensus.
I have never locked a woman in a room.
I have never threatened a woman to obtain silence from her.
I have never used force to have a sexual encounter.
I have never promised work on television or any other project in exchange for sex.
Andrés Roemer.