When the Duke University-lacrosse-rape story broke in the spring of 2006, it sparked massive media coverage nationwide for more than two years and endless liberal posturing about white privilege vs. a disadvantaged black woman – three Duke lacrosse players were charged with raping and kidnapping a black stripper. It all turned out to be a lie, as we now know, and the politically correct house of cards collapsed. The liberal media quickly moved on with few regrets about a rush to judgment.

Now there is another Duke University-rape story with a strong evidence trail of e-mails, photos, and videos, as well as investigative work by the FBI, an Internet Crimes Against Children task force, the State Bureau of Investigation, and police forces in Washington, D.C. and in Durham, N.C.  But this time, the liberal media aren’t saying much.

That’s because this case involves a homosexual Duke University official who does AIDS research; who lives with his partner in a sexually liberated and eco-friendly housing community; who adopted two black boys; who allegedly drugged and sodomized one of the boys; who allegedly broadcast the sodomy online; and who reportedly offered the 5-year-old boy up to other gay abusers on the Internet.

This is not a politically correct storyline: ‘Gay White Duke Official Rapes Adopted Black Boy.’ It doesn’t fit the liberal worldview. ‘Angry White Male Rapes Black Girl’ does – but that’s not the story here. Thus the meager media coverage. Let’s look at what’s known so far.

Frank Lombard, 42, is the associate director of the Center for Health Policy at Duke University where he does a lot of patients-with-HIV/AIDS research and brings in grant money: for example, $4 million in 2007. He also teaches undergraduate courses, as listed for 2009, including “Introduction to the United States Health Care System” and “Health Policy Analysis.”

Lombard lives at the Eno Commons with his partner Ken Shipp, a pharmacist who also works at Duke doing HIV/AIDS research. Eno Commons is a cohousing neighborhood in Durham, which was developed by lesbian activist Sherri Zann Rosenthal, also the assistant city attorney for Durham.

Enos Commons describes itself as “embracing diversity” and welcoming to “residents of all ages, races, religious beliefs, and affectional preferences.” It says it is open to lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender members and has no restrictions on romantic relations between consenting adults. It also describes itself as a “Paradise for Children” who “learn what they live.”

The FBI, the police, and U.S. attorneys first learned about Lombard through a “confidential source,” as explained in a sworn statement by Detective Timothy Palchak, who works for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, assigned to the Northern Virginia Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The confidential source, or “CS,” was facing child pornography charges and decided to cooperate with investigators about other people involved “in the sexual abuse and molestation of children.”

CS stated that he used the Internet-based video chat program ICUii (I See You Too) to talk with a person with the user name “cooper2” and “cooperse.” According to Palchak’s statement, the following was determined:

 - Officials with ICUii, under subpoena, “provided information that the ICUii account of ‘cooper2’ belongs to Frank Lombard.” ICUii “listed Frank Lombard’s email address” and his telephone number, and also indicated “that Frank Lombard’s profile description stated he was interested in ‘perv fam fun,’ a reference to incestuous child molestation.”

 - ICUii also disclosed to the FBI that a customer had complained back in January 2007 that, in chatting with Lombard on ICUii, “Lombard told the complainant that he ‘was into incest’ and that he had adopted two African-American children.”

 - “The complainant also explained that Frank Lombard described himself, in his profile, as being a ‘perv dad for fun.’”

 -  CS said he met cooper2 about four years ago through ICUii and they corresponded every few weeks, and CS had seen cooper2 “over webcam as many as one hundred times.”

 - CS witnessed cooper2 “perform oral sex on an African-American child who appeared to be under the age of ten, and [too graphic to print], all of which activity was displayed to CS using the individual’s webcam.”

 - Cooper 2 also, according to CS, advised “that he lived in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina; that the child was an adopted child, one of two adopted African-American children; that he had a live-in gay male partner who did not participate in the sexual abuse; and that he had allowed other individuals to sexually molest the child.”

As the statement continues, Palchak says that he engaged in an undercover operation using the online chat program Yahoo! Instant Messenger and chatted with a person using the “display name ‘F L.’”  Sections of Palchak’s statement read:

 - FL used the “photo share” feature of Yahoo! Instant Messenger and sent to the detective “nude photos of himself, which pictures match the North Carolina driver’s license photograph of Frank Mccorkle Lombard.”

 - “User with the display name ‘F L’ stated that he had sexually molested his adopted, male, African-American child who he had adopted as an infant and is currently five-years old.”

 - “He advised Your affiant [Palchak] in particular that the child had performed oral sex on him, he had ‘fingered’ the child, and that he had [too graphic to print].

 - “He also advised … that he has met other pedophiles on the program ICUii at times when he was willing to display his adopted child on that program.”

 - “He further stated that the abuse of the child was easier when the child was too young to talk or know what was happening, but that he had drugged the child with Benadryl during the molestation.”

 - “ ‘F L’ invited your affiant to fly to Durham this week in order to have sexual contact with his 5-year-old adopted child. ‘F L’ stated to Your affiant that there would be no limits on the sexual activity he could engage in with his 5-year-old adopted child.”

 - “During this conversation, ‘F L’ was fully visible over the webcam, including his face. ‘F L’ is identical to the North Carolina driver’s license photograph of Frank Mccorkle Lombard.”

Lombard was arrested on June 24. He is charged with offering up his 5-year-old adopted son for sex to other people (U.S. Code Section 2422(a). The maximum penalty for such a crime is 20 years imprisonment.

One would think that the arrest of a prominent Duke University official for such a heinous crime would spark a lot of major media coverage. After all, this is the same Duke University that the media (and Duke’s liberal faculty members) went batty over with the lacrosse-rape story – a story based on one woman’s unsubstantiated allegation, which quickly fell apart.

But that story was so politically correct – three young white men allegedly rape a poor, young black woman in the South – the maniacal liberal media would not let it go. It fit all their stereotypes and their political agenda.

The gay and eco-friendly Frank Lombard who adopts black boys and then allegedly sodomizes one of them on Web-cam does not fit the liberal media’s stereotypes or their agenda.

Let’s look at the numbers.  In the 15 days following Lombard’s arrest, a search of the Nexis news service database (search term “Frank Lombard” and “Duke University”) shows that 19 news stories were published. Most of that coverage was in small, local newspapers and was cursory.

In the 15 days that followed the arrest of two Duke lacrosse players, on April 18, 2006, there were 1,056 news stories. (Nexis search for “Duke University” and “lacrosse” and “rape.”) (The third lacrosse player was not arrested until May 15.)

And in the few weeks prior to those arrests, following the woman’s Mar. 14, 2006, claim that she was raped, there were an additional 1,367 stories. All of that included extensive coverage on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, National Public Radio, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and all the major newspapers and magazines. The coverage was wall-to-wall.

Yet a fairly prominent gay Duke University official is nabbed in an FBI child-sex sting and there are 19 news stories. Two Duke lacrosse players get arrested for supposedly raping a stripper and there are more than 2,400 stories. There’s something wrong with this picture.

Does anyone doubt that if a prominent straight man at Duke University had adopted a young black girl and then sexually abused her and broadcast the abuse over the Internet, it would not be big news?

The coverage would again be wall-to-wall.

But here’s the reality. The liberal media support homosexuality. Stories that in any way undermine the media’s rosy picture of homosexuality are usually not given wide coverage.

Lombard lives in a sexually progressive commune with his gay partner. A story that undermines the liberal image of the committed gay couple – in this case, two highly educated Duke university employees – living comfortably in suburbia is not to be promoted.

Lombard adopted two black boys. A story that in any way taints the liberal picture of gay adoption is not to be promoted, and especially not promoted if the story has a race component (white male father, black sons).

Lombard allegedly drugged one of his sons and then sexually abused him on more than one occasion, and allegedly allowed others to abuse the boy.  A gay man drugging and sodomizing his own son does not help advance the gay agenda, so it gets little coverage.

At the same time, the story is so morally revolting it can only taint anyone or anything associated with it – that includes Duke University, Eno Commons, the city of Durham, the gay community in general and the liberal media who rabidly covered the Duke lacrosse scandal story.

Bottom line for liberal media:  White males allegedly rape black woman in the South equals politically correct story, lots of coverage.  Gay man adopts and then allegedly sodomizes his black son equals politically incorrect story, very little coverage.

The good news in all this? The two children adopted by Lombard are now with the North Carolina Department of Social Services. Hopefully, they will get the counseling they need and, God willing, a real mother and father to adopt them.