After years of persevering, one woman’s assailant received a two-year prison sentence plus a day.

I am a Clinical Psychologist in private practice. I received permission from a client I worked with over several years to share her story.

Shannon was raped by a member of her friend circle.

She spent the next four years seeking justice.

She was successful in obtaining a two-year prison sentence plus a day.

What jumps out when I recount this tale is the broad extent of societal failures that occurred, both during the rape, immediately following the rape, and over the fours years it took to obtain a conviction.

These failures include:

• Seven men who were present failed to stop the rape.
• These same men failed to acknowledge that Shannon had been raped over the next four years.
• Hospital staff failed to treat Shannon compassionately while she waited to have a rape kit performed.
• The police failed to investigate for a full year, even though there was evidence that the rape had occurred. 
• The police failed to communicate with Shannon during the investigation.
• The penal system failed to force the rapist to serve more than 25% of his sentence.

Details in the following story have been changed to protect the survivor’s privacy.

 

Shannon had gone out socially with a group of eight male friends. One was her best friend. She believes she was drugged. One of the men in the group raped her. She had known the assailant for years.

None of the other seven men present attempted to stop the rapist.

Shannon escaped and called her mother, who picked her up. They went to the hospital to complete a rape kit, which took eight hours. No support was offered to Shannon during her wait.

Mother and daughter filed a complaint with the police.

The bruises on Shannon’s body didn’t heal for six weeks. She received a sexually transmitted infection that took several years to recover from.

Communication from the police department was non existent. Shannon learned after repeated requests for information that nothing had been done.

She persisted in requesting the police to investigate.

It took a full year to get things started. This with the results of the rape kit and corroborating witnesses in place.

To explore how common Shannon’s story is, read Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, by Jon Krakauer.

The 2015 book documents instances of rape by four members of the University of Montana football team. None of the complaints by the survivors to the university or local authorities were properly handled. None lead to charges.

The following quotes appears when you google Missoula.

“Acquaintance rape is a crime like no other. Unlike burglary or embezzlement or any other felony, the victim often comes under more suspicion than the alleged perpetrator.”

“This brutal reality goes a long way towards explaining why acquaintance rape is the most underreported crime in America. In addition to physical trauma, its victims often suffer devastating psychological damage that leads to feelings of shame, emotional paralysis and stigmatization. PTSD rates for rape victims are estimated to be 50%, higher than soldiers returning from war.”

A book that details the difficulty of bringing Bill Cosby to justice for serial rape is The Moment by Andrea Constand.

This quote appears when you google The Moment. “More than 60 women recounted how they had been drugged, raped and assaulted at Cosby’s hands over the decades — but only Constand’s story led to criminal charges and Cosby’s conviction.”

Shannon dropped out of university after she was raped.

She was terrified she would see the rapist, or one of the men who had been present, on campus. 

She encountered the rapist once or twice a year in the city. She experienced intense fear each time, filling with adrenaline. He had raped her once. She was always accompanied, knowing these chance meetings would continue. But she refused to retreat.

After repeated requests, her case was finally investigated.

Everyone present during the rape was interviewed and three men corroborated Shannon’s story. Even so, all seven men continued to back the rapist. Some harassed Shannon when they saw her in public.

Charges were laid and a No Contact Order was issued.

The rapist was directed not to interact with Shannon. He walked right through the order and spent a night in jail, but nothing more came of it.

Shannon attempted to have the police enforce the No Contact Order a second time when she saw the rapist at an event. She knew he knew she was present. She approached two police officers. A woman officer told Shannon to leave the event. She refused to do anything. 

Shannon feared the crown prosecutor would drop her case.

Communication was poor from the crown’s office. Shannon was offered support but then nothing materialized. This happened repeatedly.

Shannon prepared to go to court. She was given a date and rearranged her life to be available. There were delays.

The crown met with the rapist’s criminal attorney and the rapist agreed to take a plea deal.

Shannon asserted she would have to move cities if the rapist remained free. We discussed whether the rapist was afraid of Shannon after he was criminally charged. We discussed how much power she had.

We discussed the rapist’s character and the definition of a psychopath.

We created safety plans. Never walk to your car alone after dark. Keep your cell phone charged.

Eventually, the rapist was given a two-year sentence plus a day.

I was naively pleased – but Shannon wasn’t. She said he would never serve the time.

The rapist served only six months before being granted parole.

Shannon read a Victim’s Impact Statement aloud at the rapist’s parole hearing. She articulated what the rape had cost her over the past four years, and the impact it would have on her future.

His parents and friends attested to what a great guy he was. 

The rapist was discharged to a supervised halfway house for a six-month period.

Shannon located two women that the rapist also sexually assaulted.

Both rapes happened within one year of when he raped Shannon. The court system didn’t allow her to share this information at his parole hearing because the women were afraid to be identified.

Shannon stopped being afraid.

It was marvelous to watch Shannon overcome her fear. She started volunteering at a non-profit organization that supports women who have been raped.

She uses her voice to publicly share what happened to her.

She sees problems in society and is aware of the failings of the justice system. She is doing something to address both.

Shannon asserted that pressing charges did no good.

I question Shannon’s perspective that her efforts lead to nothing because there were some big consequences for the rapist, although they were overwhelmingly insufficient. The rapist was incarcerated, and his freedom was curtailed while he was detained at the halfway house. Importantly, this history will follow him throughout his life.

Shannon has gotten on with her life.

She has almost completed her degree at another university and will graduate this spring.

She is articulate and outspoken in an effective way.

She is a rare and valuable woman and society is better because of her.

—

Dr Patricia Turner, PhD, Registered Psychologist in Private Practice in Calgary, Alberta