The woman who accused Nelly of rape dropped her allegations for a heartbreaking but all-too-common reason

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The woman who accused Nelly of rape dropped her allegations for a heartbreaking but all-too-common reason

‘She believes the system is going to fail her’

The 21-year-old woman who called the police after rapper Nelly allegedly assaulted her on his tour bus said she's no longer pursuing criminal action against him.

The decision, dictated to her lawyer and announced via open letter, came after negative media attention, fueled by the police department where she initially reported the crime, grew too intense for her to handle.

She also cited hopelessness that she would be taken seriously as a "small "unimportant" [person] against a celebrity" and a wish to go back to college and graduate in the wake of the incident, which was said to have taken place in Auburn, Washington.

She described her entire ordeal in detail, from the grueling reporting process to the painful push-back she received from Nelly's legal team:

"We do not live in a society where a 21 year old college student can feel safe enough to pursue criminal charges against a celebrity for an alleged rape.

If in a moment of panic and fear she immediately calls 911, she will be interviewed, detained and then sent to a hospital where a rape kit will be administered. Hours after she is allowed to return home, she will look at her phone only to be besieged by text messages of screen shots of internet articles already describing the incident…

As she cries alone in her apartment with mounting hysteria, she will learn that the celebrity and his lawyer are issuing public statements that her "allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness." That her agenda is "money, fame and notoriety…"

Every step of the way since the time she called 911, she wishes she had not. Not because what happened didn't occur exactly the way she described it. Not because she did not want the police to charge the celebrity with alleged rape.

She wishes she had not called 911 because she believes the system is going to fail her."

You can read the full letter here.

Luckily, not everyone is willing to let Nelly off the hook for these dropped charges. Even if the case did not make it to court, the young woman's reasons for refusing to cooperate with an investigation any longer are far from an admission of false rape allegations.

And Nelly's legal troubles aren't over quite yet. A spokesperson for the Auburn Police Department, where the rape was initially reported, told Buzzfeed that it intends to continue investigating despite the fact that the victim is no longer willing to testify.

In the final paragraph of the open letter, the accuser's attorney, Karen Koehler, references the recent allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein in a poignant closer.

"One day, maybe our world will change and thirty women will not be needed to (eventually) speak out against a celebrity who has hurt them in order to be believed," the letter said. "But that day has not yet come."

@k80way