An Ohio college student, David Becker, was convicted of rape during high school. At the end of a party, two of David’s female high school went up to a bedroom with him and talked for a while until they fell asleep. One of the girls woke up to find him raping her. The next day, David texted one of the two victims. He apologized to her and she told him not to worry about it. Later, she explained to police that she said that because she didn't know what else to say. The rapist was nicknamed “David the rapist” by his high school peers.
The case went to trial, but even after he was found guilty, David did not receive jail time. In fact, he won't even be required to register as a sex offender. His lawyer said that the judge gave him a lenient sentence of probation so that he could attend college in Ohio and have a college experience. The judge didn't want to stop him from moving on to his next step in life. Registering as a sex offender would apparently have stopped David from taking advantage of different opportunities in the future. This isn't fair at all. David is a convicted rapist. He took away his victims’ opportunity to consent. Why should he have a clean record so that he can have opportunities?
This case brings back memories of the Brock Turner rape case in which a man, Brock Turner, was found guilty of raping a woman. He too received a lenient sentence because he was an athlete at his school. Similarly, David got a lenient sentence so that he could have a college experience. I say, you do the crime you do the time. There should be no exceptions when it comes to rape. It's a serious offense. Rape isn't like getting a parking ticket or running a red light. It’s violating a person and traumatizing them. Judges need to take this crime more seriously and give more appropriate sentences.
Why are rapists getting such lenient sentences? People get more jail time for possessing marijuana. David will go to school and have a college experience, but what about his victims? Surely their college experience won't be normal because they'll be traumatized. It’s unfortunate that in today’s society it's more important that rapists have a happily ever after than to carry out real justice for victims.
