Crying rape

Rape is not something to spoken of lightly, neither is it a charge to be laid haphazardly. It is one of the most serious of crimes, and our laws reflect this by harshness of penalty.

Yet in recent weeks it seems a few women have decided to try and leverage the gravity of this abhorrent type of abuse either for personal gain or to add weight to their arguments or as an act of revenge, to their eternal shame.

WABC/Channel 7 weather babe Heidi Jones was arrested for perpetrating the ultimate snow job -- falsely claiming to cops that a man had tried to rape her while she was jogging in Central Park...

Khloe Kardashian has come under fire from a number of women's advocates after comparing the TSA's new screening procedures to "rape," during an appearance on "Lopez Tonight."

And, more controversially, the rape charges involving Wikileaks' Julian Assange, which may be proven bona fide but presently appear to be flimsy cases of consent withdrawn ipso facto due to bruised female egos, busted condoms and subsequent refusal to get an HIV test.

Playing fast and loose with the charge of rape denigrates its real victims and exposes a monumental ignorance of its severity and impact. What is more, accusations of false rape affect perceptions of future legitimate claims, much like crying wolf. After all, who could blame the New York police officer for thinking about Heidi Jones the next time a woman presents at the local precinct saying she was raped in Central Park?