Incoronato
POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Legislature voted 23 to 1 Monday night to censure fellow lawmaker Joseph Incoronato for comments he made during a June 2016 committee meeting and one year later in an email.
He suggested that a victim’s use of alcohol or drugs was a “prime mover” of forcible rape and that rape victims who were unconscious “to some extent…may be a contributing factor, a self-inflicted wound.”
He later apologized repeatedly for his statements admitting his choice
of words was inappropriate.
At Monday night’s legislature session, Chairman Gregg Pulver said the comments were “inaccurate and hurtful.” Pulver said the victim “cannot be blamed for the actions of deranged individuals who choose to sexually violate another human.”
He said county residents and Incoronato must be made aware that “comments like these are not tolerated. As a nation, we are seeing victims finally receiving the ability to have their voices heard and we must signal an openness and willingness to listen.”
