Take a minute, you read that right. Somehow, somewhere, the police are
actively pursuing men accused of rape. Clutch some pearls this shit never happens.
Erin
Gloria Ryan had a post over at Jezebel on the subject. She too was as
shocked as I was when it was released the police were seeking to prosecute.
Briefly, the assault allegedly occurred at a party post prom for Calhoun High
School where there was underage drinking and then the online rumors started.
The survivor is an 18 year-old Georgia high school senior by three classmates.
However, a fourth boy was in the room, possibly manning the door. Instead of a
Steubenville, the local authorities have files serious charges against the
three men and promised more charges are coming.
The four boys “ended up” in a room with the woman which is how the news outlets are describing it…which
is weird like did they teleport, walk, carry her, etc? WILL WE EVER KNOW? I’m
pulling for teleportation. Could just be me. The survivor told authorities she
couldn’t remember who raped her, just it was multiple men who inserted “foreign
object” into her vagina, which caused tearing and severe trauma. Local
authorities call the trauma substantial during a press conference. Allegedly,
other party attendees knew what was happening and did nothing. Fuck all of
those kids.
Immediately after the attack, the internet imploded a little showing
distain for the lack of action by the police, except they were working. They
interviewed 50 people in regards to the party and sexual assault. The police gathered
evidence against Field Chapman, Andrew Haynes, and Avery Johnson on sexual
battery charges. All three turned themselves in the next day and were barred
from their graduation. The Gilmer County Sheriff has promised all students who
were drinking at the party will be charged, and rape charges may be on their
way for the three men.
None of the men spent a night in jail. They also might sell out others
for a reduced sentence, which would obviously suck. However, each of the three
could face decades in jail, here’s hoping. The woman’s life is forever changed,
but we won’t know the consequences for a while.
The good news: the authorities took the charges seriously from the
beginning which is really different from how Steubenville and all universities
have been handling cases. Of course, this is the minimum, right? Doing their
job is a pretty low bar. Additionally, the community response has been
supportive for the victim. The community appears to be condemning the
entitlement and awfulness of the three men. A local columnist, David Cook wrote
in the Times Free Price:
“You know what causes rape?Rape mentality causes rape.And while alcohol can be a preferred weapon used by rapists, the foremost question we need to be asking ourselves as a society: What causes rape mentality, especially at a time when one in five college women is sexually assaulted?‘Most often, it’s by someone she know,’ reads a recent White House study.This is not about alcohol; it’s about something wedged into the male mind, something premeditated that says it’s OK to sexually assault women. It is a pornographication of relationships: In 2012 a U.N. international study showed that 70 percent of men who admitted to raping women did so because they felt entitled.As if they owned her body.”
Nothing like that was coming out of Steubenville, hell CNN worried about
the futures of those boys.
