And this is why even cases that are cut and dried and go to a jury still sometimes don’t end up with convictions.
What was the prank? Well, just this. Who didn’t engage in this kind of harmless fun as a kid?
Sadly, there have been a number of cases like this, where at camps or school getaways or among sports team members, they have these kind of ‘rituals’ ie hazing, and they often get away with it because the claim is, well, they weren’t intending to rape or hurt the victim. To me this is akin to those who claim that bullying is part of growing up, that it ‘toughens’ kids and the like and thus see what the perps did as a ‘victimless’ crime…and it stems from the fact that they have no empathy for what those kids go through when those kind of things happen, they can’t put themselves in the victims shoes.
And so now he is pushing for a mistrial or acquittal? Lovely. That woman, 81-years old, really considers it to be a “prank” and not sexual assault? If something similar happened in the senior center would she feel the same way?
It’s just a horrible example of rape culture, bullying culture, etc. I’m glad all the other jurors were not in agreement with her.
They don’t see it as a victimless crime, they see the abuser as the alpha male and the victim as, well, a victim. Good to know your place in life by high school, but that’s life. Good for the students who came forward and outed the abusers.
Wow. I almost missed this story. I wish I did.