In a rape case that was filed against a former Westminster, Calif., police detective, the SSRI medication Zoloft is being blamed for the now ex-detective’s rape and kidnapping of a woman back in 2010. This has many people wondering if SSRI antidepressants can really cause someone to rape someone else. Some experts believe that these drugs can do just that.
For this particular case, Anthony Nicholas Orban is being accused of kidnapping and raping a 25-year-old waitress. Orban is claiming that he was so overwhelmed by his use of the antidepressant that he was mentally “unconscious” and “totally unaware of his actions.”
Orban’s attorney Mathew Blatt said, “But for the use of Zoloft, Mr. Orban would not have committed these acts. Here you have a police officer and former Marine who for the last 10 years has been dedicated to protecting his country and protecting his community … this was totally out of character.”
The alleged victim in the case states that her ordeal began on a Saturday evening when she went to her car after working at Ontario Mills mall. Deputy District Attorney Debbie Ploghaus told the jury that “Orban, with his police service weapon drawn, forced the victim to drive her car up Interstate 15 to a self-storage lot in Fontana.”
The victim then said to Orban, “Can I go now?” She then says, “He said ‘there is something you need to do first. I think you know what it is.'”
The victim then says that for the next hour, Orban sexually brutalized her in her SUV. During the testimony at the trial, the defense’s strategy became clear when the victim stated that at the end of her attack, Orban got anxious and started scanning the area outside the car.
“Then he looked at me and said: ‘Who are you? How did I get here? Whose car is this?” the woman testified. “He told me to put my clothes back on.”
Orban’s defense may not be as “insane” as it at first sounds once it becomes known just how dangerous SSRI medications like Zoloft, Paxil and Effexor can be. Much research has proven that drugs like Paxil, Effexor and Zoloft can cause patients to act in very aggressive and suicidal ways. In fact, the warning labels post that the drugs are linked to aggressive and suicidal thoughts and behavior. This may have caused numerous people to act in ways that are completely out of character, and many juries have acknowledged this in their rulings. With this knowledge in hand, it is obvious that SSRIs like Paxil can cause some patients to rape and even kill others as the drug takes effect on the brain’s regular function.
It is for this reason that doctors should think twice before prescribing some of these medications. Perhaps this will help prevent any other people to have to suffer needlessly.
