is would he have been prosecuted? I say no. But she on the other hand would have been blamed and ostracized.

And that is only if the police took her allegations seriously.


I want to report an attempted rape.

Ok tell me about what happened

I was at a party. I went upstairs to go to the bathroom. 2 guys grabbed me and pulled me into the bedroom. Locked the door and jumped on me.

Oh now sweetie. They just wanted to play. You know boys, well they are just boys.

He was trying to rip my clothes off.

You didn't mention that before. They were trying to rip your clothes off, jumped you and locked the door all at the same time?

Well one locked the door and the other pushed me down and jumped on me. he start....

You just said they both jumped you, now just one did. Which is it, honey?

I'm trying to tell you what happened.

Go ahead, I'm listening.

One jumped me while the other locked the door.

How do you know one locked the door if the other was on top of you, as you are saying now?

I heard the click.


Did you tell them no?


I screamed for help but the music was so loud, no one heard me.

how did you hear the door lock, if the music was too loud?





(rips page out of notebook, tosses it into the trash) Here's my advice to you. Stay away from those boys, you're obviously pretty and they can't help themselves. Stop dressing to attract attention.

Being about the same age( I came of age in the 1980s), It would have varied from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally, if it had been brought to the police, I suspect it would have played out something like this. He would have been charged with felony sexual battery for the groping, undressing her and rubbing his covered genitals against her. He would have likely been offered a plea as a first-time offender. In exchange for pleading guilty for a misdemeanor sexual battery, he would have been placed on probation for a few years and had to do community service. His record would have likely been expunged upon the successful completion of his probation.

Back then, they weren't tough on this kind of stuff, especially when the perps were well to do white suburban kids.

is a misdemeanor? Outrageous!

Sadly, in some states, I think that still holds true today. Generally, if some type of penetration wasn't attempted or successful, it is considered a lesser offense than rape. The theory being it is difficult to prove how far the perp was going to take it especially for a first time offender that has no history of this type of conduct.

But the positive progress is that a similar offense today would likely land the perp on the sex offender list.

May have never gotten in any elite law school. Almost assuredly never clerked for anyone, even if never convicted. The charge alone could have been a problem.

There would have been serious repercussions for his future. In a lot of states, he wouldn't have been admitted to the bar because he would have been deemed unfit to practice. Of course, damage to his career would have required him being honest on his application for admission or any clerkships assuming the criminal record had been expunged. Given, his entitled personality, I don't think he would have disclosed that on his applications.