Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane expressed regret in a recent statement after finding out about a controversial filing from her office which implied that a victim was partly to blame in her own rape case.

Kane voiced her sentiment saying that she "was not made aware of this matter prior to the filing" and was upset to know that the filing implied that the victim had somehow contributed to her own rape.

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The victim, a 24-year-old typist who worked at Rockview State Prison at the time of the assault, was choked until she was unconscious and was brutally raped for 27 minutes by convicted rapist Omar Best.

The controversial document points to the young victim as partially responsible for the horrific attack by stating that she "acted in a manner which in whole or in part contributed to the events which led to the damages plaintiff has alleged in her complaint," according to the official filing.

The document incited fury amongst the victim's supporters who condemned the Attorney General's Office for "lack of sensitivity" towards the harm done to the victim. The young woman's lawyer, Clifford Rieders, also described it as "an attempt to embarrass the victim."

Anne Ard, Executive Director for the Centre County Women's Resource Center, declared that she is appalled by the "victim-blaming" carried out by the Attorney General's Office.

However, in her most recent statement, Kane explained that her senior deputy allegedly included the defense on the report and did not inform her of the filing until it was first reported in the Centre Daily Times on September 23.

While she repeatedly conveyed her sadness about the "extraordinary challenges victims face in both the criminal and civil processes," she clarified that victim-blaming implication in the filing as part of procedure.

TagsPennsylvania, Rape, victim-blame, prison, omar best, Assault, sexual assault, rapist