There’s an analogy used in the piece that sums up this judge’s decision, and that analogy is – having a rapist watch over rape victims it’s like having a pedophile in charge at a children’s day care. In other words, it makes no sense!
A Texas judge ordered an admitted rapist to spend 45 days in jail, plus 5 years probation and 250 hours of community service at a rape crisis center where volunteers work directly with victims, reports CBS DFW.
Sir Young, 20, was sentenced Friday as part of a plea deal for raping a 14-year-old girl on their high school campus when he was 18, according to the station.
He had faced a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to the Dallas Morning News.
“When probation called, they asked, ‘Is this possible?’ I said, ‘No, it’s not possible’,” Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center (DARCC) executive director Bobbie Villareal told CBS DFW.
DARCC is the only rape crisis center in Dallas that uses volunteers, and it requires them to clear a criminal background check. Volunteers work directly with victims, answering their calls to the hotline and assisting them during rape exams. They also work with local organizations like the Girl Scouts and attend public events doing community outreach with police, according to the station.
“It flies in the face of logic. First of all, in that you would ask someone to do their community supervision for the population that has been directly affected by the exact crime. That’s like saying a pedophile should do their community supervision helping at a pre-school,” Villareal said.
Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), agrees that it’s not a logical idea to have a rapist spend time with rape victims.
“It’s incredibly hard to get [sexual assault] survivors to report in the first place and when they see sentences like this, it’s just more discouragement,” Berkowitz told CBS News’ Crimesider.
