Victims Must Be Aware
By Stacey Creasy
Pilot News
PLYMOUTH� Mandy says she was raped in April 2002. But there is a saying prosecutors and police officers must live by: What you may know and what you can prove in court are two different things.
Mandy is not the victim�s real name, but what happened to the 19-year-old woman that night is very real. It haunts her to this day, yet the alleged offender will not face criminal charges.
What happened to Mandy has happened to thousands of women. It is the type of case that is on the rise because the victim say they made a classic mistake, they trusted the person who ends up being accused as an offender. They did not recognize the signs and failed to take control. They made decisions that allowed the cases to avoid court.
In Mandy�s case, she came to know the man through her place of employment. On that night in April, he contacted Mandy, saying he needed to talk to someone about some problems.
�I told him to come over before 10 (p.m.) because I had to work the next morning,� she said.
Mandy did not think he would stop by, but, at 9:45 p.m., he knocked on her door. Mandy thought it was her mother, who often stopped by during the evening hours.
�It was him,� she said. �I was dressed in a robe so when he came in I went into my bedroom and put on flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt.�
The two of them talked. Mandy said he wanted to know if she had any alcohol. Mandy said yes, but it was not her alcohol to give away. As the two were talking, Mandy said he began to give her a backrub. He did not act aggressively. Mandy said he knew Mandy was seeing someone and there was no sexual interest involved.
During the backrub made an inappropriate move. Mandy pulled away from him and walked across the room. When the man apologized and insisted on finishing the backrub, Mandy gave in.
�I wasn�t really sure what to do,� she added. �I knew this guy had a bad temper and I did not want to get beat up.�
That decision was a mistake. As the guy began rubbing her back, he allegedly attacked her, pinned her to the floor and raped her. Mandy tried to fight the man off.
�I was really afraid he was going to beat the crap out of me,� she said
When the attack was over, Mandy ran to the bathroom to clean up. The man left.
Mandy failed to act until the next morning. The night before, she showered. The next morning she contacted police and went to a hospital to have a rape kit done. But any potential evidence was gone.
Mandy�s report to Marshall County Prosecutor Curt Palmer boiled down to a �he said/she said� incident. Palmer said he could not comment on the case.
Since then, Mandy had hoped charges would be filed; Palmer�s investigators found little or no chance of a conviction.
Mandy now knows the first mistake she made was trusting the coworker in the first place. Letting him in her home, allowing him to touch her and failing to order him to leave when she first felt uncomfortable were more mistakes.
�I want this story told so other women do not make the same mistakes I did,� Mandy said. She contacted The Pilot News to help get the word out.
Even though Mandy insists she did not send the man mixed messages, she failed to see what she has come to know as his intentions all along.
The rape kit did not show signs of a rape, but Mandy knows that may be because she waited until the next morning. Mandy said she did contract chlamydia, an infectious disease, from the man.
The alleged suspect in the case was interviewed by police. He claims the sex was consensual.
If you are attacked or raped, contact police and insist on a rape kit right away before disturbing any evidence or proof of the rape.
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