The Spur Posse was a group of high school boys from
Lakewood, California, who used a point system to keep track of and compare their sexual attacks and
statutory rapes.
The founder of the group chose the name "Spur Posse" when a favorite basketball player of theirs,
David Robinson, signed with the
San Antonio Spurs.
The group came to national attention on March 18, 1993, when the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrested a number of the members for various sexual crimes. Prosecutors later dropped all but one of the charges after being unable to prove most of the encounters were nonconsensual, although many were with underage girls, some as young as ten.
One girl who was later interrogated by police said she had been in bed late one night when a teenager appeared at her window and demanded sex from her. She complied because of rumors that the Spurs would harm women who resisted.
Police had the opportunity to prosecute the considerably older boys for
statutory rape, but declined to do so.
Members of the Spur Posse proceeded to make the rounds on the
tabloid
Tabloid may refer to:
* Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism
* Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size
** Chinese tabloid
* Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size
* Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft
* ''Ta ...
-TV
talk-show circuit.
In popular culture
Joan Didion wrote an article about the Spur Posse titled "Trouble in Lakewood", published as part of the "Letter from California" column in ''
The New Yorker'' on July 26, 1993.
Didion also discussed them in her 2003 book ''
Where I Was From
''Where I Was From'' is a 2003 collection of essays by Joan Didion. It concerns the history and culture of California, where Didion was born and spent much of her life. The collection combines aspects of historical writing, journalism, and memoir ...
''.
The main villains in the 1999
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
''
The Rage: Carrie 2'' were based on the Spur Posse.
They are mentioned in the
Bratmobile song "Brat Girl."
The Spur Posse was covered at length in
Susan Faludi
Susan Charlotte Faludi (; born April 18, 1959) is an American feminist, journalist, and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991, for a report on the leveraged buyout of Safeway Stores, Inc., a report that the Pulitze ...
's book ''
Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man'', including their formation, their fame and appearance on talk shows, and the aftermath, in which members found themselves shunned by their community and unable to find employment because of their infamy.
In 1995, ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'' broadcast an episode, "
Performance
A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Management science
In the work place ...
", based upon the case.
''
The X Files'' mentions them in an episode, "
Red Museum
"Red Museum" is the tenth episode of the second season of the science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It premiered on the Fox network on December 9, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Win Phelps, and featured guest appe ...
" with the throw away line "I think the Spur Posse just rode into town."
See also
*
Steubenville High School rape case
The Steubenville High School rape occurred in Steubenville, Ohio on the night of August11, 2012, when a high school girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was publicly and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her peers, several of whom documented the acts o ...
References
Sources
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{{Refend
1993 controversies
Adolescent sexuality in the United States
Lakewood, California
Social groups
Child sexual abuse in the United States