Opinion by: Katelyn Ramsey
In a small town in eastern Ohio, two high school boys were charged with the rape of a 16-year-old girl.
After reading a story that was printed in The New York Times, between the texts back and forth between the victim and the defendants, it made it seem like the two boys were begging her and her family not to press charges against them.
The two boys, knowing that she was under the influence of alcohol, still took advantage of the girl. While she may not remember what happened within the six-hour period in which she was unable to give consent for any sort of sexual activity, there are text messages and pictures to prove the men guilty.
The boys, while completely sober, believe they shouldn’t have been charged with anything. They didn’t believe they did anything wrong. I believe them wrong to do such a thing. They had complete consciousness, and were aware of everything going on around them. They knew that if she were conscious, she most likely wouldn’t appreciate them for what they were doing.
However, the young drunk girl was also 16-years-old; not nearly old enough to be drinking, especially not enough to be drinking so much that she passed out and had a vomit episode in the middle of the night.
The boys knew what they were doing and Trent Mays, one of the boys, pleaded with the young girl not to press charges because it would ruin his football career. He had no appreciation for the social well being of the girl. While the boys may believe that their lives were over after this trial, the young girl’s was as well.
Seeing as the boys could’ve made the choice not to do such an act, they rightfully deserved what they were charged with. They spread photos around of the girl in the basement after they had committed the crime. Mays even grew increasingly worried as the next few days went on, and tried to come up with a cover story to why she had passed out in the basement of someone else’s house.
Mays, a 17-year-old, ended up being charged with at least two years in the state juvenile system, and Ma’lik Richmond, a 16-year-old, was sentenced to at least one year.