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Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old [W:245]

Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Sixteen year old boys think with their dicks, add alcohol and a passed out girl to that and you see what happens. Good lesson for girls here.

Sawyer, all the men on DP were at onetime 16 years old. Most of us were at onetime 16 year boys, drunk and stupid and around drunk 16 year old girls. I doubt most of us raped anyone. I didn't. I don't know of any friends who did. I was without question a wild child, but sexually abusing women, drunk or otherwise was not my style. We would have kicked anyone's butt involved or after the fact. It probably wasn't your style either. Let's be honest.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

He didn't say that, but these guys are high school kids and their dicks are running their damn body and they just so happen to be drunk. Young girls better be aware of the dangers present in that situation. Considering that most people are morally bankrupt at their core that only raises the chances things are going to go wrong in that situation when the only thing stopping their true nature has been removed from the equation.

Sure he did by saying she should take responsibility for being raped. Rape is rape regardless of how stupid those boys are. We should be careful and shouldn't get drunk but seriously don't blame her for being raped. Her actions were unwise but she shouldn't have guilt for what happened. Your right about needing to be aware but put the blame on the rapists for rape.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

The guys are responsible for their reprehensible actions. They violated that girl and showed little regard for what they did (outside of pleasure or pride). They certainly deserved to be punished.

But I agree with those who say the girl has some level of responsibility for putting herself in a situation where her safety was compromised. She didn't do anything to "deserve" being raped, and her errors in judgment do not lessen the severity of the actions taken by the boys. But she made terrible decisions, compromised her own ability to protect herself, and left herself weak and vulnerable to the nefarious actions of others.

I feel for her in many ways, but being a victim doesn't negate her obligation to protect herself, or excuse her for failing to do so. I hope she's learned from this experience and that with therapy and encouragement she'll find a way to move on from what happened and learn to make better decisions in the future.

Right you are Tessie. To make matters worse, as I gather the girl thought she was with friends. At 16 weren't we all just beginning to learn what friendship is and isn't. She learned a hard lesson most 16 year old girls aren't forced to learn. Bless her.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

The guys are responsible for their reprehensible actions. They violated that girl and showed little regard for what they did (outside of pleasure or pride). They certainly deserved to be punished.

But I agree with those who say the girl has some level of responsibility for putting herself in a situation where her safety was compromised. She didn't do anything to "deserve" being raped, and her errors in judgment do not lessen the severity of the actions taken by the boys. But she made terrible decisions, compromised her own ability to protect herself, and left herself weak and vulnerable to the nefarious actions of others.

I feel for her in many ways, but being a victim doesn't negate her obligation to protect herself, or excuse her for failing to do so. I hope she's learned from this experience and that with therapy and encouragement she'll find a way to move on from what happened and learn to make better decisions in the future.

Put that way it makes sense.... If she didn't get drunk this likely wouldnt have happened....
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Sure it's not smart to get drunk, but that doesn't mean she should take responsibility for being raped! That's misogynistic and you're punishing the victim. Maybe you should instead not hate the victim and instead place full blame on the rapists for raping her.

So in my white guy in Compton example, wouldn't there be part of you that said what the hell was a white guy doing walking the streets of Compton at 2 am anyway, wada dumbs***.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Sure he did by saying she should take responsibility for being raped. Rape is rape regardless of how stupid those boys are. We should be careful and shouldn't get drunk but seriously don't blame her for being raped. Her actions were unwise but she shouldn't have guilt for what happened. Your right about needing to be aware but put the blame on the rapists for rape.

He said that she has some responsibility and regardless of what you might think when she got drunk off her ass and then edged those boys on that were drunk she was making some very bad choices right there. When she followed that up by ignoring her friends and instead decided to stay to continue to have fun she made the worst of errors that cost her dearly. Yes, the rapist are responsible for what they did to her and they should pay for it, but we shouldn't down play or ignore the actions she herself did that put herself in that position. Sadly, young girls need to know this kind of thing can happen and know exactly what the reasons for it are and this includes the actions they themselves should avoid taking.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

I agree with the poster who said this was a bad case for everyone involved.

I would say that there's a lot of blame to go around here and people who wish to both physically harm these two young men or throw them into prison forever conveniently forget that these are still teenagers - 16 and 17 - an age considered too young to vote even though they probably know more about politics and the state of the country than many so-called adults - also an age significantly too young to drink - and in many jurisdictions, too young to marry.

I think many of us would consider ourselves lucky, looking back on our teenage years, lucky that we made it out alive considering some of the incredibly foolish and dangerous things we did without much thought about the consequences. These young men, and the young woman as well, will have a lifetime now to think about the consequences of their actions.

I'd like to focus on the parents for a bit though. I'd like to know whose home was used for these parties they went to - whose booze was made available or who bought enough booze so that dozens of teenages were plastered out of their minds with no adult supervision? Don't these parents/adults have any consequences for their actions?

I'm not prepared to condemn for life on this planet or for eternity ever after two people who made a mistake under the influence of alcohol - even adults and experienced drinkers make mistakes under the influence of alcohol, often killing an innocent party. I hope these young people have strong families that can help them recover from this and develop into contributing members of society.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Sawyer, all the men on DP were at onetime 16 years old. Most of us were at onetime 16 year boys, drunk and stupid and around drunk 16 year old girls. I doubt most of us raped anyone. I didn't. I don't know of any friends who did. I was without question a wild child, but sexually abusing women, drunk or otherwise was not my style. We would have kicked anyone's butt involved or after the fact. It probably wasn't your style either. Let's be honest.

When I was around 16 there was a bunch of us way out in left field after a football game drinking smoking dope etc. One girl was falling down drunk and at one point as she laid on her back she unzipped her pants and looked up at us seductively. Next thing you knew her pants were off and a guy was on her, then another, then another. I was considering taking a turn she seemed to be enjoying herself but along came her girl friends and drug her off just in time. Was that rape?
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

So in my white guy in Compton example, wouldn't there be part of you that said what the hell was a white guy doing walking the streets of Compton at 2 am anyway, wada dumbs***.

Race and place isnt alcohol! Just because you drive on a busy highway doesnt mean you have responsibility for being t-boned! If you choke eating crackers do you have responsibility too? Just because you walk in a place doesnt mean you should have blame for getting killed. The problem is the crappy people who need to behave.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

I'd say they got off light. Think the article in the OP overemphasizes on arrogance though. It wasn't arrogance, it was a total lack of any moral foundation caused by permissive parents. Little douchebags should be going to "big-boy" prison instead.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Too bad the scumbags weren't tried as adults. Still, its nice to see that playing football doesn't get you completely off-the-hook for rape. One year for Richmond, two years for Mays, and both will be registered sex offenders for as long as they breathe air.

They should have got at least 8 years each and another 2 for gloating about it.

I understand they're kids and not hardcore criminals, however they need to pay for what they did...

The judge should have at least locked them up until they were 21 - weather remorseful or not.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

They raped a girl and got a slap on the wrist.

IMO a rape conviction should come with a mandatory death penalty.

I would agree with that, but registering as a sex offender is not a slap on the wrist.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

When I was around 16 there was a bunch of us way out in left field after a football game drinking smoking dope etc. One girl was falling down drunk and at one point as she laid on her back she unzipped her pants and looked up at us seductively. Next thing you knew her pants were off and a guy was on her, then another, then another. I was considering taking a turn she seemed to be enjoying herself but along came her girl friends and drug her off just in time. Was that rape?

Unlike the girl in OP, as you tell, it the girl in your story was aware of her actions.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

I would agree with that, but registering as a sex offender is not a slap on the wrist.

They wont be - the second they turn 18 it will be a clean slate for them - then they will do it again.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

They wont be - the second they turn 18 it will be a clean slate for them - then they will do it again.

That is probably why the judge required that they register as sex offenders following their release. Thus, they will be registering as adults and it will rightly haunt them on every job application, background check, rental application, mortgage application, etc for the rest of their lives.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Oh, I know you're not coming in here and saying that a girl who was raped is, in any way, responsible for other people's actions?

If she was drunk, is she responsible for being drunk? Absolutely.
If she was drunk, is she responsible for two people raping her? Absolutely ****ing not.

She isn't responsible, partially or otherwise, for other people's CHOICES.

For God's sake, it's 2013. Can we please throw this medieval bull**** out the window?

It's less about it being her fault for being raped, and more about it being her fault for increasing the probability that she could be raped.

After all I don't just "expect" people to not steal things out of my car. I lock my doors and make sure I don't leave cash in it. The rapists are still criminals, but she should have done more to prevent herself from becoming a victim.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

They raped a girl and got a slap on the wrist.

IMO a rape conviction should come with a mandatory death penalty.

I agree they should serve more jail time, but that is life. As for getting off easy that is another story today. years ago, yes that would be the case. now their names are immortalized and searchable by anyone. Every time an employer does a background check their names will come up. they don't even need to go that far, they just need to plug their names into google. On top of that they will be on the sexual offender registry which has great consequences like always having to tell the local registry when you move into the area. Oh, and there are places on the internet that ban you automatically for being a sexual offender. Facebook comes to mind as one of the places with a zero tolerance policy for sexual offenders, though they are not great at being secure. Some more jail time would be great, but their lives are screwed. Jail will actually be one of the easier times for them as they are required to feed them, house them, and give them some medical attention. We don't fully guarantee that stuff for the free. They may make something out of their lives. It is entirely possible even in a famous case. It is also very rare, and they will probably end up on the wrong side of the law for the rest of their lives. next time they won't have the football fans in a town backing them.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

That is probably why the judge required that they register as sex offenders following their release. Thus, they will be registering as adults and it will rightly haunt them on every job application, background check, rental application, mortgage application, etc for the rest of their lives.

It doesn't matter - they were convicted as juveniles.

They'll only serve 6 months to a year each, the rest of the sentence will be probation and then they will solicit a lawyer to have their juvenile records sealed.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

Your response to a harsh analysis of the perpetrators of this incident is to immediately bleat that someone may be racist.

You should be ashamed of your limp wristed complete disregard for the suffering of the 16 year old victim and your hot eyed leap to wrap a cloak of warm Liberal goo around the brutality of the perpetrators. Liberals like you are precisely what causes things like this to happen to innocent children.

No, rape culture, a culture where women are viewed as objects solely existing for the sexual pleasure of men, is how things like this happen to innocent children.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

It's less about it being her fault for being raped, and more about it being her fault for increasing the probability that she could be raped.

After all I don't just "expect" people to not steal things out of my car. I lock my doors and make sure I don't leave cash in it. The rapists are still criminals, but she should have done more to prevent herself from becoming a victim.

I think you are right that we need to present the reality of the situation and consequences of your actions as a part of being safe. Sure it is wrong to rape, but that does not make it stop existing. There are still rapists despite punishments and laws, and I think there will always be rapists. Girls should be aware that predators are out there and look for easy victims like those who like to get really drunk. had this girl kept her wits there is a good chance she would not have been raped.

There is a huge tree on a sharp turn where I grew up. Every 4 or 5 years it claims the lives of a bunch of high school students in the exact same way. They speed around the corner, hit the tree, and it seems all of them die. The tree is not malicious like a rapist and searching for easy victims, but it still keeps killing kids. before anyone says it cutting it down just makes the ravine behind it the killer. the reality is that the rest of the kids in school learn to slow the **** down when driving because of their friend's death. Just like that tree rapists are out there. hopefully this girl's story will inspire others to avoid stupid behavior. That is called taking responsibility for your own safety, and it is smarter to do that than to hope that rapists go away.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

It doesn't matter - they were convicted as juveniles.

They'll only serve 6 months to a year each, the rest of the sentence will be probation and then they will solicit a lawyer to have their juvenile records sealed.

they can try to get their records sealed all they want, but when you can search their names on google and find out they are convicted rapists that defeats the purpose of sealing the records. I am also not sure you can seal your records if you are on the sexual predator registry. Still, that is a moot point when they have so much news coverage.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

they can try to get their records sealed all they want, but when you can search their names on google and find out they are convicted rapists that defeats the purpose of sealing the records. I am also not sure you can seal your records if you are on the sexual predator registry. Still, that is a moot point when they have so much news coverage.

Sure, someone can search - however their name wont pop up on sex offender websites after they're 18 if they get their records sealed.
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

After my first post on this subject I expected to get hammered but I am encouraged at how many agree with me to some degree. The girl is not guilt free in this. I did notice that someone started a thread in the basement about me on this subject though, I'm just not in a basement mood tonight so I haven't looked.:lol:
 
Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

It doesn't matter - they were convicted as juveniles. They'll only serve 6 months to a year each, the rest of the sentence will be probation and then they will solicit a lawyer to have their juvenile records sealed.

It does matter. A sexual offender assessment will determine which tier of registration they belong under. The following apply to juveniles in Ohio:

Tier I: 10 years
Tier II: 20 years
Tier III: Life

They can attempt to sweep the whole thing under the rug all they like but rape is a Tier III offense in Ohio, even for juveniles, and the law says they're looking at life as registered sex offenders. You can't outmaneuver sex offender registration requirements by sealing juvenile records in this State. They will never be able to hide the fact that they are rapists.
 
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Re: Steubenville High School football players found guilty of raping 16-year-old girl

After my first post on this subject I expected to get hammered but I am encouraged at how many agree with me to some degree. The girl is not guilt free in this. I did notice that someone started a thread in the basement about me on this subject though, I'm just not in a basement mood tonight so I haven't looked.:lol:
Of course she is. You can claim she could've avoided the situation, or that she may have acted with a certain degree of naivety, but she bears absolutely no guilt for the actions of the offenders.
 
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