Two guys stop an “in progress” campus rape!

Nooooo – of course it wasn’t two, Vanderbilt guys.

Lawn rape

It was two guys riding bikes on the Stanford University campus, who first noticed a rape in progress on a lawn near the Kappa Alpha fraternity.  The victim was a presumably drunk, unconscious woman.

The two men promptly stopped riding, stopped the attack, gave chase after the attacker fled; then stopped him.

Of note? These two guys managed to do all this while calling the police.

Compare the reaction of two Good Samaritan’s to Vanderbilt’s, Mack Priolean.

Priolean testified during the in-progress rape in his room, that he looked to see what was happening, rolled over to face the wall, then pretended to sleep through a thirty minute gang attack less than two feet away.

The best worst part?

And when all was said and done, a year and a half later, Prioleau testified he still isn’t sure whether he would do anything differently.

(I feel compelled to add, “I am not making this up.”)

Mack Prioleau – sober, but feigned sleep during gang attack on unconscious woman

Mercifully, the guys on bikes didn’t feel the need to ponder what to do for a half-hour.

They acted immediately.

When the dust settled, the attacker turned out to be Brock Turner, the heavily recruited star swimmer who swam in the 2012 Olympics.

Once caught, Brock Turner was sunk.

Brock Turner – charged with multiple felonies

Turner was released from county jail after posting $150,000 bail.

An arraignment hearing for Turner is scheduled for Monday in Palo Alto.

What happens next is, negotiations;

and likely, silence from Stanford.

More on that later.

 

 

The district attorney’s office said Five felony charges will be filed against Turner

1. One count of raping an unconscious person
2. One count of raping an intoxicated person,
3. Two counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object, and
4. One count of assault while attempting to commit rape.

If convicted, Turner faces up to 10 years in prison.

After posting bail, Turner, the former Olympic trial swimmer, promptly withdrew from Stanford University. University officials said is he no longer allowed on campus.

The problem is:  If you think these crimes are new – you are part of the problem

If men randomly raping women is news, the question is; why?  One need only check out our history of of sexual assaults of women in the military.

Here, I’ll help.  Every picture tells a story.  Demonstrating their ongoing legacy – Congress will continue to clearly telegraph their utter disdain for women.  I suspect they are annoyed women continue demanding action.  But in response?  Well, members of Congress cannot be bothered to show up to listen to what women in the military who risked all in service to their country, endure.

This includes backlash in the form of losing benefits and rank for reporting rapes by superiors. Interestingly, if military women develop PTSD from a rape, coverage for that is generally denied.

Any doubts Congress supports misogyny?

In some ways the Stanford case is not remarkably different from the Vanderbilt case.  As first mentioned in the NY Times, concerning the Brandon Vandenburg verdict:

“At a lot of institutions, there’s an intense effort to protect the reputation of the place,” said John D. Foubert, a professor of higher education at Oklahoma State University. “What’s different at really elite institutions is that the students will also do most anything to protect the reputation of the institution, because they think it reflects on them.”

Professor Foubert provided the academic response.

More commonly known as a circle jerk.

But Stanford’s record in this area is equally lousy.  Last year Stanford students protested Stanford’s handling of a (never charged by police) case that found one student responsible for an attack – but nothing happened. He was not expelled.  He was allowed to finish his senior year and graduate. 

Ladies:  Skipping school officials is your best move

Between 1997 and 2009, four of 175 reported sexual assaults were formally adjudicated at Stanford. Two were found guilty.

This is why for the past ten years my recommendation has been to skip school reporting…and go, with a tape recorder and a friends, (witnesses) directly to the police.

But what about Vanderbilt

To those who believe Vanderbilt University is an oddity, consider this Tennessee case.

Not to be outdone, how about the Mississippi case involving a professor named, “Teacher of the Year”

Will the Sanford victim have an easier time in the Bay Area

The victim might have a harder time.  Consider the chances for justice if male employees from these SF tech companies are on the jury.

1.  Does the name Chahal ring a bell?

2  Consider how one female co-founder of Tinder was treated when she resisted a boyfriend’s advances.

3.  What about Snapchat, co-founder Evan Speigel.

4.  Or what Zillow thinks about women over forty.

5.  The Palo Alto case is somewhat of a surprise given the Bay Area is fraught with calls for police services not resulting in police action.

Now what

In the Vanderbilt case, the latest defense move was to file a motion to have the Verdict tossed.

However, that motion is just another in a line of Hail Mary’s that likely will not fly.  See earlier column, “Vanderburn Verdict: Is it too soon to mention malpractice?”

Ending on a high note, a new Stanford student stepped forward as a witness in the Turner case.