Twitter Engineer Denies Rape Charges

BY JIM EDWARDS

APR. 11, 2014

Dana McCallum, a software engineer at Twitter who has also become a voice for gay and transgender rights, was charged with sexually assaulting her wife, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

McCallum has pleaded not guilty.

The charges brought back on Jan. 29 by the District Attorney’s Office included three counts of spousal rape, one count of false imprisonment, and one count of domestic violence, according to the Examiner.

The couple were going through a divorce, McCallum’s attorney told the site:

… McCallum’s attorney, John Runfola, says the case is simply about money.

“I’m just disgusted that, you know, this is going on,” Runfola said. “Dana is an employee [at Twitter] and is about to come into a large amount of money. … This whole thing is about money.”

The couple had been separated, he said, but were still having sexual relations. McCallum served her wife with divorce papers the day before the incident, Runfola said.

The incident in question, according to Runfola, happened in a small condo in the Mission district when four teenagers were in the house.

The “money” Runfola mentioned is likely a reference to the stock McCallum gathered over her four years at Twitter. Twitter went public late last year, minting many newly wealthy longtime employees at the company.

The Examiner, citing court documents, said McCallum was released on $350,000 bail with the condition that she attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

McCallum ranked fifth in Business Insider’s most important LGBT people in tech.

Read more: businessinsider.com