An Open Letter To The Stanford Rape Case Judge

By Victoria Robertson on June 19, 2016

In January of 2015, an anonymous young woman was raped by a student at Stanford University. Yes, the culprit was a swimmer.

No, that is no longer all he is.

Now, he’s a rapist. Not only that, but a rapist that’s serving a sentence that doesn’t seem to fit his crime.

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Sure, sentencing a young boy to years in prison wouldn’t be the most fulfilling aspect of your job description, but that doesn’t mean you simply don’t do it. On a day that an innocent, broken down victim looked to you, trusted you, relied on you to do the right thing by her, on a day that America as a whole, looked to you to do exactly what needed to be done, you fell short.

No, that’s too forgiving. If I’m being completely honest, you failed completely. And here’s why:

For one thing, rape is a serious crime that’s all too often disregarded by our judicial system. Lack of proof and gray areas are just some of the reasons certain rape cases will never even make it to trial, while simple fear of reliving such a traumatic experience prevents even more victims from even reporting the crime.

And what you’ve done in your sentencing does nothing but reiterate this concern to victims everywhere.

What you’ve told victims is that their voice does not matter. You’ve told them that their traumatic experiences, their recovery from this experience, and their fear — something that oftentimes lasts the rest of their lives — doesn’t require justice to be served.

You’ve told them, and everyone else in the country, that a college athlete is above the law.

What do you think the repercussions are going to be?

You think that rapes are going to decrease now? You think that perpetrators are going to be afraid to commit this crime?

Certainly not.

All you’ve done is shown rapists the repercussions for their crimes aren’t going to be taken seriously.

All you’ve done is taken away hope from victims and given it to their perpetrators.

Whether purposely or not, this is what you’ve done.

Let me fill you in on something that needs to be heard, not just by you, but by the entire system: athletes are not above the law. Athletes are people. And if they’ve committed a crime, they’re a criminal. Their swimming time no longer applies — their crimes do.

A football player that murdered his wife is a murderer. A basketball player that robbed a bank is a thief. An Olympic gymnast that smuggles drugs, but that brought home the gold medal three times for the U.S., is still a smuggler.

To put it into perspective for those that don’t understand: athleticism does not make you immune to the law when you commit a crime.

It just makes you an athletic criminal.

I understand that the Stanford student was young. I understand he had a bright future ahead of him. But his actions are no one’s fault but his own. One person, and one person alone ruined his future: him.

Not sentencing a criminal because you’re afraid of what it will do to them is laughably ignorant.

Sure, this kid will come out mentally more stable than perhaps he would have otherwise. So what?

What of the victims around the world who were silenced by your decision? All you’ve done is exchanged the well-being of one criminal for the well-being of innumerable innocents.

As difficult as it is to be a judge — to hand out sentences in the hopes that they are correct — it’s astounding that such an unforgivable crime receives nothing more than a slap on the wrist. For the rape victims everywhere that are too scared to speak up, you are doing them no favors. Nobody should be put through this, and by handing out a light sentence, in a way, you are condoning this behavior if you’re of a certain social status, or if you’re an athlete. It’s time to make a stand, to make an example out of someone that many would believe untouchable, but you instead did nothing to help the cause.

Rape victims shouldn’t have to go through such trials for such a minimizing outcome. This is exactly why victims aren’t speaking out against their assailants — they’ve been shown time and time again that their pain and suffering do not matter. That it’s their own fault, that even if they come forward, nothing is going to come from it.

It’s a sad reality, and that’s exactly why now is the time for a change, and what better way to start than at the top?

If you won’t make an example of such privileged assailants who have no remorse, then we as a public have decided to make an example of you.

The time for change is now — no more waiting around for a change that we can’t go on without.

In the wake of this crime, you’ve let us down.

And in all honesty, you won’t be the last to do so.

But we won’t be silenced. We have a voice. The victim of this crime has a voice. And we are all going to start being heard.

Like I said, it’s a time for change, whether the judicial system is ready or not.

So thank you for your awful decision. Thank you because it’s made the rest of us stronger. It’s brought light to an issue otherwise ignored.

Thank you for your ignorance. It’s made us stronger.

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