Kenneth Rhodes, who was found guilty of raping a 26-year-old woman back in 2006, was sentenced last week to a paltry two-year conditional sentence that allows him to remain free in the community. Why? According to Judge Robert Dewar, because “sex was in the air” and the rape victim was “inviting,” hence confusing the “clumsy Don Juan.”
Dewar went on to specify that because the victim and her friend had been wearing tube tops with no bra, high heels, and heavy makeup, they had “made their intentions publicly known that they wanted to party.”
As he put it,
This is a different case than one where there is no perceived invitation … This is a case of misunderstood signals and inconsiderate behavior.
He went on to say Rhodes’ attorney, Derek Coggan, said that Rhodes never threatened the woman, didn’t have a weapon, and was simply “insensitive to the fact [that she] was not a willing participant.”
Though Dewar was quick to note that he doesn’t blame the victim, saying that he’s “sure whatever signals were sent that sex was in the air were unintentional,” he claims that the situation was too ambiguous to determine “moral blameworthiness.”
The victim—who still sports an impressive array of bruises scar from the attack—is justifiably aghast at the response:
This is beyond sexist. I don’t even know how to comment on it. No woman asks to be raped. … I’m a prisoner in my own home.
But never fear, folks, the hand of justice is kind. Judge Dewar has asked that Rhodes write his victim an “apology letter.” Because that is what will rectify the situation.
**Update: The original headline stated that Rhodes was pardoned, which was not the case. We regret the error and have changed the headline. Thanks to those who helped out.
—Image Ken Gigliotti/Winnipeg Free Press
@Erin
RAINN is actually profitable, but only for a few people, who take about 90 percent of all incoming money into their own pocket as salary. Many so-called charities are operating like that.
Also religious cults are operating in a similar way, check out their tax-exempt reports.
Never give any donation to such charities and cults!
Lets leave converstaions about religious colts out and stick to the subject at hand. Not all charities are perfect and some are quite corrupt. But there is no indication that that’s a *fact* here just because they turn a profit, or that their returns in 2009 were lower or that the people who run the organization have the nerve to make money for doing a job. I worked for a non-profit for years. Was I not suppose to make a salary by doing good work for our members? I need to make a living too. And 168k at a national… Read more »
Rainn is actually a non-profit. I’m sorry you can’t accept the fact that women get raped. But most men know there is a bigger threat and possibility for a woman to be raped then a man. Men have more testosterone and more aggression. When channeled correctly, these have the ability to be great powerful things about men that can used for good (think of men that become soliders and bravely go off to war). When they are not channeled correctly, there can be horrible emotional and physical consequences. Although men can and do get raped, and I hope that becomes… Read more »
That’s not really a big shocker Yohan. Find me a company that’s profits didn’t go down in 2009 and it’s probably only Apple. Lots of companies’ profits went down the past few years. RAINN is a nationally recognized organization with national exposure from credible news sources. Salaries for presidents or vice presidents of 168k or 100k a year really aren’t out of tune with comparing jobs and actually are lower then other similar public focused advocates at a national level. By the way, apparently RAINN receives partial grant support from the Office of Victims of Crimes, Office of Justice Programs… Read more »
Erin: I’ve seen other people go to jail for less ….. — This is really not a good argument, and it will bring you to nowhere. I have seen other people (usually females) NOT going to jail for much much more. Erin: I think the judge’s personal bias clearly affected his ruling — And? Again – what is your problem? I do not know if there is any appeal in this case, but if the prosecutor disagrees, higher courts might be asked to overrule this decision. I wonder however what you expect the higher courts should do, as this accused… Read more »
Erin: I’ve seen other people go to jail for less ….. Yohan: This is really not a good argument, and it will bring you to nowhere. I have seen other people (usually females) NOT going to jail for much much more. Exactly my point Yohan, the legal system doesn’t always turn a “blind” eye. It’s not always “fair”. Someone can be sentence and the punishment might not fit the crime. I do not disagree that other people (sometimes women), don’t go to jail for much more. Which is the point of my statement. The legal system doesn’t always turn a… Read more »
Is it feminism or is it political correctness? Are they basically the same? Does one beget the other? It’s virtually intolerable to say that a woman has any responsibility in her own rape. On the face of it, saying only that, it’s ludicrous; of course no one is responsible for their own rape. I actually do believe that regardless of a person’s behavior, they do not DESERVE to be raped. No one DESERVES to be raped. I don’t care if I’m absolutely shitfaced walking down Main Street at 3 am half naked, screaming that I want someone to fuck me….I… Read more »
Does choosing to have a nice car count as a choice that deserves carjacking or at least informs why it is ok that someone carjacks you?
Logic fail.
No, only in rape do we have the depravity to blame the victim.
Yohan:@ Erin “I was asking you what is your problem with this case and with this judge. I do not see a problem as this judge convicted him of rape. He did NOT pardon him. What else do you expect this judge to do? And if the prosecutor or the defense do not agree with him, there is the possibility to move on to a higher court. The judge convicted him according to the law and the punishment fits the sentencing guidelines. What did he do wrong?” Did you read my initial posting? Because my posting mainly focused around the social… Read more »
The feminist position in such a case is unclear. Let us see. What a woman is that? 26 year old single mother, drunk, standing in front of a bar during night, is kissing men, invites them for naked swimming in a nearby lake… In such a situation the advice from us MRAs (Men’s Rights Advocates) is easy, loud and clear. We recommend any man to stay away from such a female, not even willing to try. Don’t touch her. Say NO, thank you. Move on! Run! However scornful feminists are making fun out of us, MRAs do not know how… Read more »
Paul says: February 26, 2011 at 2:34 pm There’s no misunderstanding and he should have ended up in jail. —– He is out on a suspended sentence and he will end up in jail if he is breaking the rules of probation. I do not think, feminists will agree with a law which says that any form of rape and crimes related to rape like false rape allegations – regardless the gender – must necessarily carry a long mandatory jail sentence without the possibility of probation. For sure, MRAs, (Men’s Rights Activists) offer better advice for such incidents than feminists… Read more »
Erin says: February 26, 2011 at 3:57 pm I am all for taking preventive measure against crime. I am all for protecting yourself. But if life was perfect, none of the good guys would ever get hurt or be in precarious situations. We all make bad choices sometimes. —– Exactly, this man CONVICTED of rape while drunk made a bad choice,but this argument does not protect him against punishment because he is a male. In case of a female – facing a court regarding false rape allegations or sexual harassment – the situation is totally different. Most of them are… Read more »
Yohan: “Exactly, this man CONVICTED of rape while drunk made a bad choice,but this argument does not protect him against punishment because he is a male.” Drinking and raping someone is just just a bad choice! It’s a crime! He put scars on her! He can’t be that dim that he didn’t know what he was doing with a struggling female. Going off into the woods with someone is not a crime! It’s not that bright but it’s not a crime. You’re basically saying that any person that is under the influence of drugs should be able to do what… Read more »
Erin: No one said people were never falsely accused of rape —– Really, is it so? — Sarah says: February 26, 2011 at 10:25 am False rape allegations are not even worth bringing up in this case. Not worth bringing up in any case, because as soon as you accuse a woman of a false rape claim, you silence her right to testify. You silence any woman’s right to testify against an alleged rapist. — Entire ridiculous argument by a feminist. Not only the female accuser, but also the accused male has the right to bring up his arguments and… Read more »
Erin:
Drinking and raping someone is just just a bad choice! It’s a crime!
—
This is the reason, he was convicted of rape. So, I ask again and again, but I do not see any reply.
What is your problem? He was convicted of rape. He is on the list of sex-offenders…
So tell me, what is your problem with this case and this judge?
You’re just being belligerent Yohan. You didn’t come to your mindset because of Sarah who believes that bringing up false accusations of rape in this case don’t hold merit. What, you think rape never happens? Get a clue. And yes, I answered your question. It’s is completely atrocious that you would chalk up the rape of another person to “oh well shit happens” attitude. I ask you again, if a person drank, got into a car and killed another person in a car crash, would this person be accountable or not? MOST of us would hold that person very accountable.… Read more »
@ Erin
I was asking you what is your problem with this case and with this judge. I do not see a problem as this judge convicted him of rape. He did NOT pardon him.
What else do you expect this judge to do? And if the prosecutor or the defense do not agree with him, there is the possibility to move on to a higher court. The judge convicted him according to the law and the punishment fits the sentencing guidelines.
What did he do wrong?
Judge Lets Off Rapist Because Victim Was Wearing a Tube Top Wearing tube tops, make-up, and high heels are “rape me” signals, according to a recent ruling. —- This is the headline I see today – 27/FEB/2011 – on the homepage – starting page of the GOOD MEN PROJECT on the right side. This is indeed very bad and incorrect reporting by the GOOD MEN PROJECT , as the judge never said that and did NOT pardon the accused man. The judge found this man guilty of rape as a clear YES was not given, he however sentenced him to… Read more »
1) Perpetrator thought he had consent from the victim, though consent was not explicit.
2) Non-violent, non-forcible rape.
Two years in prison, for a minor crime, and the hysterical feminists are having a fit. Just goes to show that there is nothing that these privilege princesses will not complain about.
The man should have been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
All rape is forcible.
“Exactly Why should we listen to the endless lies, politicizing, fear mongering, shaming, monopolising and money making from female victim rape from a group that ridicules and oppresses abuse victims that don’t look like them.” I have no clue what any of this means. No one said that a man being raped was less important. Truth is, men being raped happens way less then women being raped. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen and it’s not an important issue. ANd when a crime against a man is committed, it’s more likely that it’s from another man. Doesn’t mean women don’t commit… Read more »
We welcome any and all submissions. We want your voice to be heard.
https://goodmenproject.submishmash.com/Submit/2285/Account
No, women do not rape men as often as men rape men. I am not trying to prove men are horrible. Most men are not rapists, but most rapists are men. And yes, I do definitely believe women rape men, and it’s no less of a crime than a man raping a woman, but it happens less than male on male rape.
http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims
Figure the math out on your own.
William Belle says: February 26, 2011 at 2:19 pm “Inviting circumstances” may explain what happened, but they don’t justify what happened. No means no. — Without doubt, a clear YES was not given, therefore the judge had no other choice but to convict the accused man of rape. So, what is the problem? For sure not only the prosecutor and the victim, but also the defense lawyer and the accused man have the right to present their side of the story. Do you agree with this? NO means NO, as you said, but exactly this is what is strongly challenged… Read more »
“To say NO and to kiss a drunk man, inviting him for naked swimming in a nearby lake instead of walking away is NOT a clear NO, but a MAYBE.”
MAYBE is still not a yes. I can say maybe I want to eat a sandwich, but then change my mind and have some soup. Clearly I didn’t want the soup anymore.
Exactly. So I ask again, what is your problem with this ruling? The judge found this man guilty of rape as a clear YES was not given, he however sentenced him to a relatively lenient punishment, considering various circumstances. Some circumstances are not related to the victim, for example he is a first offender and had no previous record. To show up in front of a bar, to kiss a drunk man and to invite him for naked swimming during night is NOT a clear NO! It would be good for feminists to educate women about how to say a… Read more »
Yes, she went into the woods with him. Not the brightest move but certainly not a move that is asking to be raped… —– Not the brightest move…. This can be said about many victims of many crimes. It’s not only about rape. It’s about burglary, theft etc. etc. If you park your car, key inside, motor running and you come back later after a while, you should not be surprised it was stolen. If you have a nice home and you are going out without locking your door and you come back after some days, you should not be… Read more »
I am all for taking preventive measure against crime. I am all for protecting yourself. But if life was perfect, none of the good guys would ever get hurt or be in precarious situations. We all make bad choices sometimes. Thinking back to a few positions I put myself in when I was 10 years younger, I cringe now. I was stupid! And thankfully someone was looking over me because it wasn’t until a few years after a few incidents happened, where i was unharmed, did I realize the danger I could have been in with certain shady characters. Insurance… Read more »
“Inviting circumstances” may explain what happened, but they don’t justify what happened. No means no. There is no such thing as implied consent as only yes means yes. As Lorraine Parrington (co-ordinates the sexual assault crisis program) so aptly points out, everyone is allowed to change their mind. The judge’s mentioning of what the women were wearing is inexcusable. I don’t care if the woman was wearing a Madonna/Lady Gaga cone bra with crotchless edible panties; no means no. The word skank doesn’t come up at all. The judge said that “Sex was in the air.” “Money is in the… Read more »
People have been sentenced to jail for less with stricter terms. The judicial system is fallible because people (even judges and courts) are fallible. From the comments based on the state of dress of the victim, I think it’s clear to see some biased on the judges part. The state of dress of the victim really has little bearing in how a man conducts himself. I wear tube tops in the summer sometimes myself. Because they are cute, fun and because they are light. What I choose to wear, what affect it might have on a man, is ultimately his… Read more »
Lets be clear, the woman in the article didn’t agree to sex. So when you try to rationalize a hypothetical situation with a man on man rape where you hypothetically state one did intially agree to sex, it’s a bit misrepresentive to the real issue at hand that you’re trying to compare it to where it’s clear the woman didn’t agree to sex. Secondly, you might be right that when it’s a man on man violence that the legal system wouldn’t bare a greater sentence. And I would be right to say that the Middle East more easily prosecutes women… Read more »
And it’s this exact “but what about the menz?” that pulls away from problems women still face. This article isn’t about male rape. If you want to bring attention to male rape victims, then write an article about it yourself. Don’t bring up a what-about-the-menz scenario in an article that is not about you.
@Sarah Radford This website is NOT supposed to be a feminist-only website. The Good Men Project is even claiming to be open-minded and willing to listen to what men have to say. If you, Sarah, agree with Eogan’s or with my opinion is irrelevant. It cannot be denied that this report by Lu Fong on this website is strongly biased against the CONVICTED man and against the judge. The case is presented like if this convicted man left the court pardoned and unpunished by this judge, but this is not the case. About the case itself, just my opinion: If… Read more »
Your feminist bashing makes me take you even less serious than I did before. As soon as you start presenting an unbiased face, you will never be taken seriously on this website, because you’re always coming in with some grudge against feminists, women, whatever.
Guess what? I never claimed to be a feminist. In fact, most anthropologists will tell you a feminist is a person who believes in equal rights for women. What you are suggesting is extreme feminism, AKA, feminazis, and they never hold any water. So you’re railing against a small minority of feminists that do not equal ALL feminists. And guess what? Extremists speak out more than moderates, so of course you’re going to find more feminazi information than feminist information. If you’ve ever taken a political science class, or an anthropology class, you would know this. Again, until you start… Read more »
from the article:
The Crown wanted at least three years behind bars, citing numerous case precedents which suggest that is the starting point for a major sexual assault…Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Dewar disagreed…
—–
The judge has the right to disagree with the prosecutor, even in rape cases, otherwise we do not need a judge.
It seems some people have problems to understand basic principles of justice.
Cooper Fleishman says: February 25, 2011 at 2:52 pm Oh please. More rape apologism bullshit … Flirting and not refusing a kiss aren’t “agreeing” to sex—”yes” is agreeing to sex. ….. On another note, what is it with this ridiculous notion that female victims’ right to a fair trial in rape cases somehow undermines the experiences of male victims? — The legal situation is not so easy as you claim it to be. YES means ‘sometimes’ NO – It’s up to the good or bad mood of the woman to recall her given consent later on – feminist friendly laws… Read more »
Zaneta Jung says: February 25, 2011 at 1:02 pm I’m pretty sure “no” is never misunderstood with “yes.” —– I am not so sure about that. The article says, he met this drunk woman in front of a bar, he was invited to go swimming with her in a nearby lake during nighttime despite she had no swimming suit. She was clearly drunk、but this man was also drunk and she said NO, but started kissing him. What should this mean? This is not a clear NO, this is a MAYBE… The judge called her behavior to be ‘of suggestive attire… Read more »
No to sex. It’s not hard. Just because you’re drunk and you kiss someone does not mean you want sex. How hard is that to understand? The punishments are fair to me. I personally don’t expect the judge to do anything else, really. I realize this guy wasn’t threatening in any way, but at the same time his mommy should have told him when it’s okay and not okay to stick your penis in someone. If someone’s drunk and they say no, whether or not they push flirtatious behavior on you, no means no, and this guy should have made… Read more »
FINALLY! A judge with some common sense! This so-called “rape” was nothing more and nothing less than a MISUNDERSTANDING about whether consent was given or not. And when a girl is sporting a tube top and high-heels to go with her tight jeans, has some drinks with a guy, suggests they go skinny-dipping, gets into a car with this guy she just met, then she is, at the very least, CONTRIBUTING to that misunderstanding. Can there be any doubt that they BOTH sincerely regret the sex that took place? And yet only one of them faced the terror of the… Read more »
There is nothing in the original article that indicates she said yes. She did not say yes to sex. She threw off his advances the first time, but then returned KISSES. Then he took her to the woods and raped her. She was likely drunk, and if she didn’t say anything, that DOES NOT MEAN YES. A lack of yes means no. A lack of no means no. Not saying anything means no. Just because she wanted to party, skinny dip, whatever, does not mean she was asking to get raped. The judges decision should have been based in facts,… Read more »
Read The Mockingbirds, and then maybe you’ll understand her situation a little bit more, because this woman’s situation is the exact situation the MC of this novel faced.
This quote sums it up best: “The biggest problem with this is that most of us girls were taught the very same thing, and we are always faulted for the instances where we relax our adherence to it, if something bad happens. Again, stranger danger is grossly overinflated. The victim tried to get away from the situation, only to have the creep follow her and her friend abandon her. The problem is not that she followed a handsome stranger into the woods, against her mother’s wisdom. The problem is that too few mothers give their sons such detailed information about… Read more »
I’m sorry but when you start hitting a woman that is rape – and that is what this guy did.
There’s no misunderstanding and he should have ended up in jail.
Even if you were naked in bed and the girl changes her mind – then hitting her is still rape.
Sorry, Paul.
But you don’t get to just make up evidence to fit what you believe the outcome of the case should be.
Nowhere, does anyone or anything say that he “HIT” the girl.
(and if he did, don’t you think someone would have brought it up?)
She had scars… yes… there was evidence of it.
A few problems here: 1) You’re quoting Judge Dewar as saying the man was “insensitive to the fact [that she] was not a willing participant.” But that’s inaccurate. According to the news article you linked to, the man’s attorney, Derek Coggan, made that statement. 2) This man was not “pardoned.” He was found guilty and convicted of rape. The judge (rightfully) said the mitigating circumstances were not relevant as to the man’s guilt. But those circumstances are routinely considered during sentencing. Do I agree with the judge? Absolutely not. It doesn’t matter what the victim was wearing at the time… Read more »
The headline of this article is misleading. This is not a “pardon,” and it certainly wasn’t settled the way it was just because the plaintiff was wearing a tube top. There’s not enough information about what is supposed to have happened the night of the incident, other than that he was ultimately convicted of the offense. Not all things deemed a crime in a court of law happen under the same circumstances. Then again, people who want you to feel ways about stuff cleverly truncate what they feed you, leaving out the bits that might influence your opinion towards drawing… Read more »
So true, journalists are HUNGRY. And cases heard by a judge are loaded with details that even a journalist won’t necessarily be permitted to view or write about. As for rape victims not daring to press charges for fear of a sad and corrupt justice system that blames the victim, I’m one of those women who didn’t tell any judicial authority, same exact fear of he-said she-said scenarios being played out in a courtroom. I was 17, he 22…a gang rape, he my so called boyfriend who set it all up. How does one prove such things when the rapist… Read more »
How does she still have “an impressive array of bruises” five years after the fact?
Scar. Not bruises.
“Rhodes pleaded not guilty at the trial on the basis he thought the woman had consented.”
Then he should do time for being so criminally dumb.
I just caused a commotion at a very quiet coffeehouse from laughing so hard at your comment.