It's a sad day in court when you walk away with an outcome like this.
A convicted Manitoba rapist has just been given a slap on the wrist (and no jail time) because the judge says there were "mixed signals in the air" and that he therefore, can't be held fully accountable for forcing himself upon his victim. Hmmm...
Kenneth Rhodes met a woman at bar a number of years back. It was summer time, the woman was dressed in a tube top and supposedly "in the mood to party." Her make-up was done and she was sporting high heels. The pair left the bar with another couple... one circumstance leading to another... the young woman found herself alone with Rhodes on a darkened highway. While we weren't there to see what exactly transpired, to make a long story short, the woman said "no" to sex but Rhodes forced himself upon her anyway. End of story.
His defence lawyer told court last week it's clear alcohol was a factor for both his client and the victim in terms of their ability to make good judgments. He also said Rhodes never threatened the woman, didn't have a weapon and was simply "insensitive to the fact (she) was not a willing participant." It should also be noted he was much larger and stronger than she.
"There is a different quality to this case than many sexual assaults," the lawyer says. "Not all guilty people are morally culpable to the same level. This difference is not to be reflected in conviction. It can be reflected in sentencing."
Tell that to the woman Rhodes took advantage of - the woman who six years later still bears the scars of the attack both mentally and physically.
"Insensitive to the fact (she) was not a willing participant?" No means no and insensitivity is a far cry from rape. Maybe the woman's behavior that night wasn't exactly innocent but that doesn't give Rhodes the right to rape her.
One online commentor on this case sums it all up nicely and I couldn't agree more.
"The law, your Honor, is supposed to be blind. And now we are splitting hairs with its sword over the quality of the rape. As a man whose wife suffered this indignity, I am outraged that a man who is supposed to uphold justice, would create this kind of injustice. As one person pointed out yesterday, this talk of "sex was in the air" and how the woman was dressed have no bearing on the man's lack of self-control in committing rape. If she said "No", that ends it. Was she unwise - absolutely, but he was criminal."
