Post by Tom Earp on Jun 8, 2011 14:14:21 GMT -5
Wall Street Journal
April 23, 2011
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704658704576275152354071470.html
Shutter Fraternities for Young Women's Good
By CAITLIN FLANAGAN
In the fall of 1984, a 17-year-old freshman at the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />University of Virginia named Liz Seccuro was invited to a fraternity party. While there, she was given a tour of the historic house and offered a cup of the dark green cocktail that was its specialty. Within minutes she was incapacitated. She was carried into a bedroom and raped. She woke up wrapped in a bloody sheet (she had been a virgin) and watched as the rapist coldly packed his backpack and told her, "You ought to get out of here before someone sees you."
Liz Seccuro in March in Charlottesville, Va. Her new book, "Crash Into Me," tells of her sexual assault by fraternity members in 1984.
Alone, bruised and bleeding, she walked to the emergency room, waited for hours, was sent to Student Health and began a weeks-long ordeal. One school official suggested she take some time off or perhaps transfer. Many doubted her story. She realized she had no real hope for justice, and so she gave up trying to find it.
But 20 years later, something remarkable happened: Her rapist, who had joined Alcoholics Anonymous, sent her a letter of apologyor, as Liz came to see it, a handwritten confession. The story of his prosecution and ultimate imprisonment is detailed in her riveting new book, "Crash Into Me," which includes a horrifying revelation. She learned during the discovery process of the trial that she had been gang raped.
April 23, 2011
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704658704576275152354071470.html
Shutter Fraternities for Young Women's Good
By CAITLIN FLANAGAN
In the fall of 1984, a 17-year-old freshman at the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />University of Virginia named Liz Seccuro was invited to a fraternity party. While there, she was given a tour of the historic house and offered a cup of the dark green cocktail that was its specialty. Within minutes she was incapacitated. She was carried into a bedroom and raped. She woke up wrapped in a bloody sheet (she had been a virgin) and watched as the rapist coldly packed his backpack and told her, "You ought to get out of here before someone sees you."
Liz Seccuro in March in Charlottesville, Va. Her new book, "Crash Into Me," tells of her sexual assault by fraternity members in 1984.
Alone, bruised and bleeding, she walked to the emergency room, waited for hours, was sent to Student Health and began a weeks-long ordeal. One school official suggested she take some time off or perhaps transfer. Many doubted her story. She realized she had no real hope for justice, and so she gave up trying to find it.
But 20 years later, something remarkable happened: Her rapist, who had joined Alcoholics Anonymous, sent her a letter of apologyor, as Liz came to see it, a handwritten confession. The story of his prosecution and ultimate imprisonment is detailed in her riveting new book, "Crash Into Me," which includes a horrifying revelation. She learned during the discovery process of the trial that she had been gang raped.