Reminders (thank you to those who pointed this out)

Much thanks to M. for this reminder: 

1. Allegations began before Jan. 23rd. It could not have been the first time he heard of it. People reported these things for years to him and his crew on site. They went through "internal committees" etc, and were dismissed or "handled". Some of the victim's statements say this, I think. My own friend, who still is not comfortable coming forward, said the same thing. And that when she did go to the police a month later, they said they could do nothing because she chose to not report to police but to JM and the "committee", who did not actually give her a choice at the time, and in her shock and trauma she did not argue, she trusted them. There was no evidence to give to the police, and when she asked for the report and info and pics the "committee" said they collected, they claimed there was none. 

2. People he assaulted or was privy to being assaulted at his events did not go to the police not just because they were afraid to, but because they were prevented from it and going to the hospital for rape kits. The "committee" would convince them that it should be handled internally, taking advantage of their shock and trauma to cover up the issue. Just because all paperwork disappears, or never was actually filed/filled out at the time of the complaints (to protect himself, his friends and his event from the the consequences) does not equate it didn't happen and no allegations were made. It equates that they interfered with victims seeking police intervention. 

Another commonality Ive read and heard is they told victims that because its a kink scene, the police would not understand or handle it properly. They would shame and use fear of this to stop them from going to police and just going through the internal method at the event. 

All of these things directly lead to police not being able to assist victims, in the moment of the assault and later if they decide to report anyway once the initial trauma shock passes. The police have more difficulty pursuing a rape or sexual assault case if the initial interview and evidence is not taken professionally or, as it happened with JM, disappears.

JM and his friends had complete control over the events these assaults happened at.

Furthermore, back in the Div Heads Chat, it shows that the division heads knew about consent violations that had occurred at JM Events: 

Michael: Is there a summary of the accusations? ...

Amy: **** is another one.

Elise: There are many others. 

...

Elise: We've been receiving reports for months. Picketing because of his consent violations has also been planned for months, as others here can confirm. 

I have no idea who was planning picketing Wicked Faire due to Jeff's consent violations. I honestly did not know about Jeff's consent violations until Jan 2018. I just knew he was a shady businessman. 

Jeff "created a predator rich environment, with internal committees, and keeping victims from resources to help them, for himself and others, and now is making a false, and easily proven false, claim to regain it." 

Also, as noted here (and here and here) the procedure for getting abusers banned from JM events was next to impossible. 

This also reminds me of the reason I never attended SPWF... Here is the harassment policy: http://owleyeview.blogspot.com/2014/04/steampunk-worlds-faire-and-jeff-mach.html
Most relevant here is this piece: 

However, the suggestion of “you can ask us to talk to people on your behalf and facilitate the resolution of any issues” is not appropriate at JM events. No one at JM events, as far as I am aware, are trained in conflict resolution or are therapists. I have seen JM security have conversations that were handled badly. I do not feel that JM event staffers are qualified to “facilitate the resolution of any issues.” Furthermore, the staffers are often overworked volunteers who have other duties that are their responsibility. Unless someone is a trained individual who is dedicated to this sort of conflict resolution, this step can cause more harm than good.

I made this point in late Jan 2018: 

Jeff seems to be a con-man, through and through. His business practices are shady, and he does not properly compensate performers and staff. He has a tendency of finding new/younger people, getting them to work for him, and when they realize they're being taken advantage of, he cuts them loose. Often this is done in a manner that makes Jeff out to be the victim, or the employee seem unbalanced or overly-demanding. This is abusive behavior.

"When they realize they're being taken advantage of, he cuts them loose. Often this is done in a manner that makes Jeff out to be the victim, or the employee seem unbalanced or overly-demanding. This is abusive behavior." 
This is exactly what JM is attempting to do now. He has stayed relatively quiet for nine months and now is pretending to be the victim. 

Furthermore:

"The majority of my allegations come from:

My business competitors

Disgruntled Ex-Staff

Past intimate partners"

So basically the people who hate him are everyone who's had any contact with him, who have the time and the desire to fuck over one dude rather than the occam's razor reason of he treats all sorts of people badly.

Now, let's really get into dissecting this above point: 

From Psychology Today:

A critical part of the perpetrator’s self-image is being able to dominate others.  He proceeds to do this as he pursues whomever he finds attractive. 

These individuals are often extremely intelligent, charismatic, and talented.  Even people who know them well cannot conceive that they are even capable of exploiting others sexually. Such predators are masters of deceit.

When they are unmasked, their chief regret is getting caught with little or no remorse for the victim.  Instead, they regard themselves as victims because of the unpalatable consequences they must face.

In my humble opinion, all three of these above points fit JM. 

From ABC News:

A 1998 National Violence Against Women Survey revealed that among those women who reported being raped, 76 percent were victimized by a current or former husband, live-in partner, or date. A 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics study found that nearly nine out of 10 rape or sexual assault victimizations involved a single offender with whom the victim had a prior relationship as a family member, intimate, or acquaintance.

Only a fraction of those who commit sexual assault are apprehended and convicted of their crimes.  ... Many women who are sexually assaulted by intimates, friends, or acquaintances do not report these crimes to police.

Therefore, JM's argument that because the accusations come from former intimate partners means they aren't to be believed has no basis in reality. Furthermore, it is clear that women often do not report to authorities, so it is only logical that there would be no police report. 

From Time:

So this is how it happens. This is how sexual predations go on so long. The conspiracy of silence that protects carnivores is a toxic combination of a phalanx of powerful parties whose job it is to keep their client doing business, plus a cascade of tiny choices made by dozens of individuals, who fear for their own fates, are too ashamed to say anything, and are unwilling to judge the sexual behavior of others. Very few accusers can withstand that combination of well-paid mufflers and bystanders who aren’t sure how to act.

... hedgerow of customs and attitudes and relationships that blocked most people from getting a full view of the sliminess.

Studies have consistently shown that people are much more willing to forgive if they believe their relationship with a transgressor is now or will be valuable to them. Those relationships could be valuable because the offender is a spouse or a parent or a benefactor.

A classic Weinstein method was to hire young staff and then train them in his methods. They didn’t know, one told me, what the code of practice was. George Clooney asks: “Who is taking these actresses up to his room?” And the answer is, at least some of the time, novices who thought that actors taking meetings with producers in hotel rooms was the way business was conducted.

This is exactly what JM did. He would burn bridges with staff and hire on new people. 

From Chicago Tribune:

The immediate retort from some people is, why are accusers bringing this stuff up now? Why did they keep quiet so long if this was happening? This makes the victims and their claims suspect — that it’s all made up to ruin reputations, get some cheap publicity, and is a shakedown for money. Cosby and his apologists — before, during and after his sexual assault trial in Pennsylvania last June — used this ploy to trash his female accusers. This is a straw man argument if ever there was one. There is an obvious answer why, aside from fear, uncertainty and trauma, that many abuse victims say nothing.

The Iowa Law Review in March 2014 found that rape is routinely underreported in dozens of cities. Rape claims were often dismissed out of hand with little or no investigation. The result was there were no reports, no statistical counts and no record of many attacks.

The study zeroed in on the prime reason for this, namely disbelief. Disbelief assures that powerful men are reflexively believed when they scream foul at their accusers. They may lambaste them as liars, cheats and gold-diggers, or ridicule and demean them as sluts. If things get too hot, they toss out a few dollars in hush-money settlements and then scream even louder that it was all a shakedown operation in the first place, further demonizing the victim.

A gross misconception about prosecuting sexual crimes has instilled the dangerous public notion that rape and sexual harassment can be minimized, marginalized or even mocked because the clock has wound down on when the crime could or even should be reported or prosecuted.

Contributing to the problem is a misunderstanding of what a typical sexual predator looks like. Countless studies show that attackers are not usually stereotypical perverts. A sexual attacker can be anyone — from the helpful, adorable boy next door to a wealthy, staid, respectable pillar of the community with a loving family. When they are accused of sexual harassment, abuse or rape, the gasp of disbelief ripples not only through the alleged perpetrators’ families, but among friends, associates, law enforcement and the courts.

Jeff held a monopoly on a certain type of events in New Jersey. He kept other, similar, events away. He was a well-known figure in the community and, since he was in charge of these events, it was easy to think of him as a good guy. 

There are people in the community who refuse to believe the actual victims here. Jeff Mach is not a victim. Jeff Mach is an abuser. Jeff Mach needs to not be part of the community in any way, for the safety of the community. 

#MeToo
#IBelieveSurvivors