Anyone who doesn't think that rape is much more a crime of violence than a sexual act should consider these cases. And the victim doesn't have to be assaulted for it to be a violent act. Rape itself is an act of violence.
These women, all in their late 70's, 80's, and 90's, were raped. And I'm just listing some very recent cases. This sort of thing goes on all the time. Like children, the elderly are very vulnerable to sexual attacks. These women did not "ask to be raped".
Yesterday, a 79 year old woman was attacked and raped as she got into the elevator of her apartment building in the Bronx. They are hunting for the rapist.
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/elderly.woman.rapist.2.1812767.html
Think she was dressed provocatively?
An Alabama man was sentenced in June 2010 to 50 years in prison for raping a 90 year old woman.
He alleged that the sex was consensual and that she initiated the act. The jury didn't buy that.
Quote:
Anthony James Vines stood trial in Lee County, Alabama for the rape of a 90-year-old woman. He testified on Tuesday, March 30, 2010, that he had had consensual sex with the woman in November 2008 and that it was not rape. However, the doctor who treated the victim testified that she had ‘quickly decided that if she was going to get through it, she was going to not resist.’
The woman is now 91-years-old, testified that Vines had dragged her back to her bedroom and raped her. Vines’ testimony was in direct conflict her hers. He testified that she had invited him to her Opelika home on November 9, 2008, asking him to do some work around the house. He said she opened the door and invited him inside. According to his testimony, she then went to her bedroom and called him to come to her. He claimed that she initiated sexual contact with him.
“I asked her how old she was, but she told me not to worry about that,” Vines testified. “She initiated the act, as far as having sex.”
James Vines said that most of what had been said in his trial was not true. Under questioning, he told his attorney, Harold Morris, that he had not raped the woman, had not burst through her door and did not take the battery from her phone as had been previously told to the court.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Robbie Treese asked Vines exactly how the 90-year-old woman had initiated sex with him. He didn’t have an answer to the question.
Vines testified that the woman fell as he was leaving her house and her front door latch was broken during her fall. The woman testified that Vines had broken the latch when he broke it down, busting into her house.
There was no question that the two had had sex. Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences expert Kristen Maturi testified that semen taken from the woman matched Vines. Dr. John McFarland of the East Alabama Medical Center told jurors that he treated the woman after the attack.
Vines was the only person to testify in his own defense.
This was James Vines’ second trial in this case. His first trial, in 2009, ended in a mistrial. Following this week’s trial, a jury found him guilty of rape. The jury deliberated for about 25-minutes and apparently didn’t believe James Vines claims that sex with the 90-Year-Old Woman was consensual. They returned a unanimous verdict of guilt.
In Aptil, a man in Texas was sentenced to 20 years for raping a 79 year old woman. He could have faced life in prison.
http://cbs11tv.com/local/Brad.Beavers.Sentenced.2.1634536.html
Anyone think that sentence is too long?
Three days ago, an 18 year old was arrested for raping a 79 year old woman in a Tennessee nursing home.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100716/NEWS03/100716028/1001/NEWS
Think she consented?
Last December, a man raped a 79 year old woman in India.
http://www.zopag.com/news/79yearold-woman-raped-by-youth/11013.html
Anyone think "she asked for it"?
In 2007, a 79 year old woman was raped in Callosa d'En Sarrià as she left Mass.
http://forum.stirpes.net/immigration-crime/10502-ecuatorian-immigrant-raped-79-year-old-woman.html
Think she was flirting?
Last September, a man in Long Beach, California was arrested for raping an 83 year old legally blind woan.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/long-beach-rapist.html
In May, 2010, a teenager in Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested for raping an 83 year old woman.
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?s=12514303
In June, a an 85 year old woman in Detroit was assaulted and raped in her home.
http://www.examiner.com/x-19336-Detroit-Crime-Examiner~y2010m6d23-85-year-old-Detroit-woman-assaulted-raped-and-left-for-dead-by-east-side-home-invader
In June, 2010, a man forced his way into the home of an 85 year old woman in Georgia, and attempted to rape her. She fought back and he fled the scene.
http://www.examiner.com/x-19336-Detroit-Crime-Examiner~y2010m6d23-85-year-old-Detroit-woman-assaulted-raped-and-left-for-dead-by-east-side-home-invader
In January 2010, a man was arrested for raping, robbing, and beating an 80 year old woman in Houston.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/22348294/detail.html
In June, 2010, a man in Connecticut was arrested and charged with raping a 90 year old woman repeatedly over a period of two years while she was in his care.
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Man-charged-with-raping-90-year-old-woman-527087.php
Child sexual abuse is sickening, but so is the rape of the elderly.